Urban Intimacy: Performances of the City

URBAN INTIMACY: PERFORMANCES OF THE CITY

JIHUI CAO

TUTOR: JAKOB KNUDSEN

Royal Danish Academy Of Fine Arts, School Of Architecture

THESIS PROGRAMME 2014 Department 2

CONTENTS

PROLOGUE

01

ABSTRACT

03

URBAN INTIMACY Time, Place And Self

05

Visible/Invisible City

11

THEATRE AND THE CITY Re-setting Reality

15

Narrative, Actor and Audience

17

REINVENTING ISTANBUL Globalization Vs Urban Deprivation

21

Rate of Change

23

RE-MAKING THE CITY Spectacle in Destruction

25

Creation In Destruction

27

Relative Proximity

31

PROGRAMMATIC INTENT Design Considerations

33

An Ephemeral Architecture

35

A Manifesto for Preservation

37

SITE OF INVESTIGATION

39

METHODOLOGY

45

SCOPE + SUBMISSION

46

APPENDICES

47

BIBLIOGRAPHY

54

CURRICULUM VITAE

56

PROLOGUE Urban intimacy: to describe

the multiple scales

of interactions in the city that build up a specific understanding of a place.

The built fabric of the city is the framework in which urban intimacies are enacted. These are made visible through the performance of social and human interactions, simultaneously drawing parallels and highlighting differences in lived experiences.

When the physical environment of the city is altered, human interactions are likewise reconfigured, for better and for worse. These interactions create new intimacies that begin to reshape urban and social structures.

Change is inevitable. Removing old structures to make way for new development is part of the life cycle of the city.

Construction creates opportunities for certain types of urban intimacies by adding space or programme, but one can argue that destruction offers the same by way of selective removal. This exposes hidden spatial potentials and challenges accepted rules of social engagement.

The question is, what is the tipping point at which the system (of people, intimacies, economies and interdependancies) becomes unstable, stagnant or on the verge of collapse?

Enforced demolitions of Roma homes in Sulukule, Istanbul.

Photo: Matthieu Chazal

02 02

ABSTRACT

The project aims to investigate

to lose their unique diversity.

the exposure and amplification of urban intimacy as a driver for

In response to this, I propose a

urban development.

critical and provocative discussion of the possibilities of progression,

This will be done through the

densification and conservation in

proposition of a theatre which

the historic city fabric of Istanbul.

uses the spectacle of construction and

destruction

to

redefi ne

I

will

discuss

cyclical

relations

and

and deconstruction of the urban

explore

the

reciprocal

between

the

staged and everyday theatrics,

construction

fabric in facilitating scenes of

relationship between the two.

urban intimacy in the context of The

difficulties

historic

a perpetually reinvented theatre in

preservation

reconciling and

the

space and in the shifting theatrics of everyday life.

need for urban redevelopment are prevalent in many cities today.

Speculation will be on the kinds of interactions that will result as the

In recent years, Istanbul s highly

meeting of productive confl icts,

controversial strategies for urban

which act as mediators between

renewal have led to losses in more

different groups of users, both

than just physical urban fabric.

permanent and transient.

Buildings

and communities of

historical merit are lost, locals are

A dialogue between the two will

driven out, and the urban fabric

start to challenge preconceived

and feel of the city are beginning

social relationships and blur the

line between the observer and the

see it only as a generator of capital

observed.

and suggests gentrification as the only solution.

The

architecture

physical

will

explore by

This project rejects this notion, but

selectively removing built fabric

densification

acknowledges that development

to encourage unexpected modes

must come with change, and

of inhabition, thereby physically

therefore the urban fabric will be

building on and intensifying new

treated as a field of potential where

emerging relationships with new

parts will be removed in deference

structures.

to the wider scheme.

Within this framework, I will

Radical proposals will be used to

consider

and

test the limits of the urban and

structural density, proximity and

theatrical performance which will

territory and speculate on their

be used to inform further iterative

contribution

studies.

and

programmatic

decline

to

urban within

growth existing

communities.

As be

such,

the

presented

as

project a

series

will of

The site of investigation will be

investigations over time where

the

conservation

parts of the timeline will be

area, where a process of renewal

developed in detail, but will always

has already begun. This area

be placed in context to former and

is highly sought after due to its

future development.

Süleymaniye

value as a tourist attraction. The municipality and investors alike

04

URBAN INTIMACY: TIME, PLACE AND SELF

I will use the term urban intimacy

From a Deleuzian perspective of

to describe the multiple scales of

interiority/exteriority, this construct

interactions in the city that build up

is a reaction to, and a product of,

a specific understanding of a place.

changing external conditions.

These range from tea serving as

Physical context may not change,

a welcoming gesture, to intimacy

but territorial shifts will cause

between a collective body of people

changes in the sensing of the

at urban and global scale events.

space, thus changing the perceived experience or understanding.

In an architectural context, intimacy arises where there are interactions

Therefore,

between the individual (or a group

a

of individuals), and a place (in a

the system of its creation, and

space and/or in a time).

perpetually

fragile

urban condition,

intimacy

is

unique

to

reconstructing

itself

in reaction to the exteriorities. It is Urban intimacy is an event that is

something that may last a second,

deeply subjective by its nature. It is

a minute or a day.

intrinsically tied to a specific creator, in a specific place in a specific

Urban intimacy will be used as a

time, and is suggestive of existing

tool for questioning and redefi ning

relationships or associations.

perceived social orders. How can manipulating these relationships

It is an experience that can be

can start to suggest unexpected

shared, and can be found in routine

scenarios of use and interaction?

and spontaneous situations.

Human scale.

Local scale.

Urban/Global scale.

Urban intimacy at multiple scales. The following pages also show intimacy in urban scenarios that may be explored.

06

UNCOMFORTABLE INTIMACY

Intimacy can be uncomfortable. In a crowded metro car, the forced close proximity of strangers is rarely conductive to open interactions.

This gathering of individuals to the single purpose of transit conversely creates an atmosphere of personal concealment, where a display of inwardness: reading a book, listening to music, avoidance of eye contact, becomes an immaterial threshold towards the outside world.

Crowded metro

COLLECTIVE INTIMACY

The gathering of people for an event can create intimacy within that collective group.

The atmosphere of the festival is one of open exchange, where one can feel comfortable in the crowd.

At music festivals, crowds gather to hear their favourite artists. This intimacy is made up of individual experiences that are shared through social interaction.

Crowd at Glastonbury Festival, 2013

08

STAGED INTIMACY

An intimacy can be staged by arranging artefacts from the city in a single space.

This curation of objects removed from their proper place (recontextualisation) begins to create an intimacy to a ďŹ ctional place - one where unrelated becomes interrelated.

A form of this is seen in the arrangement of a front garden, where personal objects are selectively put on display as a way of claiming ownership of the space.

Alison and Peter Smithson

Patio and Pavilion

ACCIDENTAL INTIMACY

The density of the urban fabric naturally entangles the public and private realms.

These thresholds become blurred then we accidentally catch a glimpse of something not meant to be seen.

In a darkened street, this may be a view through a window into the lit room beyond.

Anne Laure Maison

Tableaux d intimitĂŠs

10 0

URBAN INTIMACY: VISIBLE/INVISIBLE CITY

x

Visible to tourists.

Visible to locals.

Networks and points of gravity.

While all interactions have the capacity to be intimate, it is only perceived in this way if it is given hierarchy and value within our general awareness of the surrounding environment. What we give value to is dependant on who we are and how familiar we are to a place.

We seldom look at our surroundings. Streets and buildings, even those considered major monuments, are in everyday life little more than backgrounds for introverted thought, passages through which our bodies pass on the way to work. In this sense cities are invisible to us, felt rather than seen, moved through rather than visually taken in.

- Anthony Vidler, Warped Space, p.81

What is monumental and highly visible to a tourist, is invisible to a local as it is a part of their everyday life. That is not to say that these monuments have become any less significant, culturally or historically, but rather that each group has their own value system when navigating the city.

Time and memory are key factors. It differentiates between the routine and the spontaneous because repeated exposure over time creates a sensitivity to everyday details and a certain degree of ignorance to others.

Therefore the city can be considered to have multiple realities and identities. For the transient individual, a tourist for example, an idealised vision of the city is supplemented by guide books and web imagery. They experience spontaneous intimacies in the city, drawn by what they see to be exotic or unfamiliar. Then there is the permanent user of the site, a resident, for example, for whom the familiar coffee house across the road creates a sense of routine intimacy.

In this respect, could perceptions of visible/invisible, routine/spontaneous within the city be used as a tool to redefine or enrich the narrative of a place? Can it be used to redirect interactions, thus heightening or dampening the awareness of place and the individual s role in it?

12

URBAN INTIMACY: VISIBLE/INVISIBLE CITY

The tea seller has a highly visible

Nor will they know the routes that

presence within the marketplace,

he takes, the network of customers

but those unfamiliar to, or not

he has.

speciďŹ cally looking for the details of his operation will not know the

The exposure of these nuances

nuances of his system.

as an urban performance has the capacity to change both the

They will be unaware of the exact

understanding of the tea seller

dimensions of the tea tray or how

and the market.

to keep the tea from spilling when navigating a busy street.

Study of tea sellers on Hasicilar Cd. Drawings of tea selling equipment.

Mapping of territories .

14

THEATRE AND THE CITY: RE-SETTING REALITY

It is in the city, the city as theatre, that man s more purposive activities are focused, and work out, through conicting and co-operating personalities, events, groups, into more signiďŹ cant culminations.

- Lewis Mumford, Architectural Record, p.94

Many parallels have been drawn

No two performances are the same,

between the life of a city and

just as no two market days will be

performances in a theatre.

the same. Each act is nuanced and unique, even if the performed script

Where the theatre is a space of

is the same, as it is interpreted

exchange

dierently each time.

between

actors

and

audience, the city provides spaces of exchange and assemblage between

After each performance, the stage is

people and buildings.

cleared and reset.

Both have uid identities and the

After each season, the stage is

capacity to reshape perceptions

demolished and reconstructed.

and challenge social norms by making certain things visible and

This

rendering others invisible.

reality of the theatre is also seen in

perpetual

re-invention

of

the urban realm, where people and spaces are forced to adapt to social and economic changes.

If

this

is

the

case,

then

the

performance of the everyday is in fact remade on an hourly, daily and even annual basis. It does not have a deďŹ ned duration as theatrical performances have, it acts instead as interruptions in the temporal continuum.

Therefore, how can the perpetually reinvented

space

be

used

to

amplify urban intimacy in order to generate new modes of use and understanding?

16

THEATRE AND THE CITY: NARRATIVE, ACTOR AND AUDIENCE

If the city is to be considered a

performances new purpose.

theatre, then urban intimacy is the performance of social interaction.

Actor and Audience

The collation of these intimacies in

In

a specific space creates narratives

relationship

that form the identity of a place.

audience

a

traditional

is

between an

theatre,

the

actor

and

accepted

truth.

However in the urban realm, roles

Scripted

and

Unscripted

Narratives

between the actor and audience are less defined.

Urban narratives are non-linear and should not be limited to traditional

It begs the question, who are the

notions of scripted as theatre and

actors, the permanent users or the

unscripted as everyday.

transient?

Through subverting this relationship

I would argue that both groups have

- theatre becomes unscripted, the

the capacity to play these roles, as

everyday scripted, the interaction

the urban performance itself is multi-

between the two can be used as

participatory.

amplifers of events of urban intimacy drawing

Relationships in the urban realm can

out differences and making them

be explored as the different actor/

apparent.

audience relationships to uncover

at

multiple

scales

by

the potentials of staged urban spaces Productive

interactions

can

be

made and remade, thus giving both

and performances.

Roman Theatre Main stage faces audience on one side only. Limited interaction between actor and audience due to single permitted view of the performance and strong delineation of the stage boundary.

ACTOR

AUDIENCE

Renaissance Theatre Main stage protrudes into audience on three sides. Performance may be viewed from multiple sides and has a

ACTOR

AUDIENCE

greater degree of interaction between actor and audience.

Black Box Theatre Unadorned

space

where

seating

can be rearranged to adapt to the requirements of the performance.

ACTOR

AUDIENCE

Typically used for experimental or pure theatre where the need for set design is to a minimum.

18

THEATRE AND THE CITY: NARRATIVE, ACTOR AND AUDIENCE

Immersive Theatre

These

The productions operate in dynamic

limited to smaller audience groups

performances

are

often

settings in which the audience plays

to intensify the experience of the

an active role. There is no delineation

staged reality.

between actor and audience, and the performance may be viewed from

Urban Performance

any angle. The audience have the

The urban performance is an event

freedom to see what they want,

of urban intimacy exposed through

when they want.

theatrics.

Sequence and view are not dictated;

The nature of this performance can

it strives for the kinds of unscripted

be seen as being similar to that of

interactions one might enounter in

immersive theatre because events

the urban realm.

in the urban realm develop from interruptions and interactions.

Instead of moving stage sets to signify a change of scene, the

The urban performance may be

audience physically moves to the

as small as an exchange on the

new location.

doorstep, to something as large as a ashmob.

Each person s understanding of the narrative will therefore be unique,

In the side streets of Istikal Cd, a

and the product of a interactions

small tea house becomes both the

and intimacies with actors and

stage and audience, where people

other audience members.

watching over a cup of tea is a normal pursuit.

Punchdrunk s Sleep No More Photo: Sara Kulwich

Social gathering.

Istiklal Cd.

20

Urban sprawl and forced eviction

1950 1975 1990 2010

REINVENTING ISTANBUL: GLOBALIZATION VS URBAN DEPRIVATION

In Istanbul s plans for globalization,

escape its Ottoman past. It is in fact

poverty is an eye sore that must be

still very much reliant on the tourism

removed.

the historical areas attract.

Government

urban

Even so, there is little interest in the

regeneration schemes have created

sanctioned

preservation of cultural and human

huge disparities between the rich

institutions - the primary concern

and the poor and contributed to the

is with the image of the city. It is

massive urban sprawl around the

renewal on a purely superficial level

periphery of the city.

for the end game: financial gain.

Istanbul currently has conflicting

As a result, urban deprivation is

identities. Although it wants to be

prevalent in inner Istanbul. Poorer,

seen as a westernised city, it cannot

historic

neighbourhoods

are

?

Our culture of control and speed has favoured the architecture of the eye, with its instantaneous imagery and distant impact.

- Juhani Pallasmaa, Architectural Review

either being priced out or evicted.

and

Neighbourhoods fall further in to

development in favour of instant

physical decay, and their inhabitants

results.

rejecting

accumulative

are forced to move into informal settlements on the outskirts of the

This

city.

of development is in danger of

solely

top-down

method

alienating an already segregated Evictees are left with fragmented communities

and

no

way

population.

of

generating income in these new

The term urban renewal in Istanbul

locations.

is more in line with large scale problem solving than building on

The city is diminishing it s historic

the strengths of what is already there.

diversity in favour of uniformity

22

REINVENTING ISTANBUL: RATE OF CHANGE

A perceived permanent fi xture

and is also an example of fast

in the urban fabric may not be

change.

permanent by its nature.

The informal approach builds as

Fast

required and on the surface appears

Accommodating for population flux

to

and social change is challenging in

approach.

already densely built cities such as

building

Istanbul.

physical and social infrastructure

provide

a

more

humanistic

However, unregulated can

lead

to

deficient

that would eventually cause to the Currently, the city has flattened historic

neighbourhoods

degeneration of a community.

like

Sulukule and Tarlabasi in order to

Certain levels of planning should

create housing for a more desirable

be implimented, but the new should

demographic - the middle to upper

not completely replace the old. The

classes.

city should be able to remake itself without losing its identity or defining

These are fast changes aimed at

characteristics.

creating a spectacle - where the vision of the western world is

Slow

believed to be one of clean streets

Changes should be allowed time to

and uniform facades.

become part of the urban fabric and therefore be absorbed into local,

Informal building on unoccupied

eveyday lives.

land was allowed by the government during Istanbul s industrial boom

For example, street life is part of the

Private lives in public.

Yenikapi street life.

urban fabric. It is where private lives

familiar part of the urban fabric.

meet public ones. It is an informal addition to the streetscape.

Therefore should the architecture be composed of a hybrid strategy

On the ďŹ rst day that a street

that directs rather than dictates

vendor enters a new territory, he

development?

is considered an invader of the established order of the place.

If so, then what is needed in this

However, if he appears daily, soon

preliminary

he will be a recognisable presence

reinhabitation and appropriation is

in the street and at this point, he

encouraged to occur?

framework

where

also becomes an essential and

24

Symbolic burning of The Man Burning Man Festival 2013 Photo: Jim Urquhart

RE-MAKING THE CITY: SPECTACLE IN DESTRUCTION

The Burning Man festival is a week

another kind of performance, one

long event held in the Nevada Desert

that uses its visibility as method for

every year.

gathering. The intensity of the event is used to amplify the experienced

The

participants,

removed

from

intimacy.

familiar places and people, create (for a brief time) a community under the

Once the spectacle is over, no trace

festival ethos of mutual support and

of its happening is left behind.

collaboration.

Pavillions,

artwork

and

burnt

material are dismantled and removed The pinnacle of the event is the

from the site, as if the even did not

burning of a large wooden eďŹƒgy.

take place.

This is a ritual performed every year at the close of the festival. It is seen

What is retained, however, is the

as a symbol of new beginning shared

memory of the event. This gives

with thousands of others. This is

the eeting festival a sense of

collective intimacy.

permanence through the use of spectacle.

The destruction of the sculpture is

26

RE-MAKING THE CITY: CREATION IN DESTRUCTION

Lebbeus Woods asked the two

an intimacy.

questions on the right in the wake of the Honshu disaster in 2011,

They are comprised of written and

but I believe that these are also

unwritten social conducts, physical

relevant in the discussion of urban

and immaterial boundaries.

progression and conservation.

The use of a precise cut - one made

Productive Destruction

after a close study of a place - is

Destruction need not refer to

used to expose programmes and

something negative, and I believe

spaces to forms of engagement

that it should be considered as part

they are unfamiliar with.

of a cycle of construction where city phenomena is revealed then

This begins to alter relationships

concealed.

across the threshold as the cut is reinhabited, thereby producing a

Physically altering the fabric of

series of new urban intimacies that

a building is traumatic, but is a

redeďŹ ne how the space and the

process that gives the building

spaces adjacent to it are used.

great visibility from the ďŹ rst cut. It can then be used in a speculative

Not all of the city can and should be

way to discover new interrelations.

exposed. The use of concealment and removal to give hierarchy

Threshold

can begin to reveal parts of lives

The threshold refers to the space

or places that were previously

of interacton where we are able to

unaccessible.

confront or deny an encounter of

To what extent is destruction necessary for creation?

Are creation and destruction two separate, opposing things, or are they the same thing, expressed in dierent ways?

- Lebbeus Woods, Questioning Catastrophe

A cut between the old hamam and new han starts to suggest new connections and interrelations. The oppotunistic will inhabit this to create new social and economic relationships.

28

Gordon Matta-Clark

Conical Intersect

RE-MAKING THE CITY: CREATION IN DESTRUCTION

A cut is very analytical. It s the probe! The essential probe. The scaold of sharpeyed inspectors.

- Gordon Matta-Clark

Aside from using his artwork to

permittance of light, air, movement,

discuss themes such as privacy,

depth and views.

poverty and abandonment, Gordon Matta-Clark makes physical changes

In the photograph on the left,

to built structures in order to reveal

circular cuts into the building

imbedded spatial potentials.

reveal a new view to the street, but more importantly it creates spatial

These often controversial pieces of

connections within the building

art show how an invisible building

itself. In the static building, the cut

in the urban environment can be

creates a dynamic void to be moved

made visible by altering it beyong

and looked through.

repair.

This is relevant to the discussion on Structures

and

destruction in the context of urban

through physical cuts, immediate

hold

spaces,

renewal as it speculates on the

connections are made from interior

things that could be gained from

to interior, and interior to exterior.

a productive removal of building mass.

What is gained from this, is the

30

RE-MAKING THE CITY: RELATIVE PROXIMITY

The built fabric of the city creates

preferences of spatial occupation

networks of proximity in which

and acceptable proximity.

urban life dwells.

Body language serves as an indicator Physical proximity to an object

of this, and can be as obvious as

or a place does not guarantee an

turning away from someone, or as

intimate understanding of it - they

subtle as initiating eye contact.

can be experienced close up and from afar, both will generate an

These concepts can also be applied

understanding of the thing, but

to the building and urban scale,

the two readings will be dierent

in

and biased but neither one is more

proximities and relations between

correct than the other.

buildings and programmes.

Proxemics inuences the way in

In an architectural context, this will

which we sense the world around

be discussed in terms of orientation,

us, and is therefore an integral part

placement and approach. These

in the construction (or destruction)

principles will be used to test the

of urban intimacy.

relationships between the body and

which

suggests

acceptable

a space, as well as interrelations They are spatial conditions that

between

give

themselves.

an

indication

of

personal

spaces

and

Body placement: indirect engagement, no engagement, full engagement.

buildings

Laban s measure of space through physical extension of the body.

This describes our capacities for interaction as an active engagement with space.

Proxemic zones: distance between people.

32

PROGRAMMATIC INTENT: DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS The

project

dual study of community both

the

The border between theatre and

a theatre and a

the everyday will deliberately be

proposes

developed

scripted

and

through

unscripted

investigated as something fluid and flexible.

events of urban intimacy and performance at multiple scales.

Interactions By physically removing parts of

Temporary vs Permanent

the urban fabric, the interactive

The theatre infiltrates the urban

potentials of these spaces are tested

realm by exposing programmatic

through

and spatial potentials in order to

informal (unrestricted) inhabitation.

formal

(dictated)

and

build its permanent structures. This is the urban parasite that draws

Not all will generate positive forms

from the strengths of the existing

of intimacy but all aim to engage

site.

both transient and permanent users of the site in a reciprocal dialogue.

Additional removal of the urban fabric

will

stages

for

create urban

temporary and

theatric

performances.

By

making

invisible,

the

and

highly

vice

visible,

versa,

the

reconfigured performances aim to offer a different narratives of the

The Inbetween

site.

The theatre is often described as mirroring societal trends and will

Scale

be used in this capacity to formulate

Design considerations will include

and counter developments in the

performance spaces for both small

city. Similarly, developments in the

scale immersive theatres, and a

city will directly affect the chosen

local scale public theatre that opens

approach to theatre.

to the street from within the urban fabric.

accommodation for transient workmen

permanent

SCRIPTED DESTRUCTION

workshop space

SCRIPTED INHABITATION

THEATRE

SCRIPTED INHABITATION

SCRIPTED DESTRUCTION stages 22

SCRIPTED CONSTRUCTION

23

21 20

4 5

19

UNSCRIPTED INHABITATION

EVERYDAY

18

6

17

7

UNSCRIPTED INHABITATION

8

16 15

9 14

13

12 11

10

UNSCRIPTED CONSTRUCTION

permanent space

programmatic byproducts

ephemeral space

34

Ephemeral Structure, Permanent Event

Roaming Market Aberrant Architecture

Permanent Structure, Ephemeral Event

Amphitheatre, City Hall, London

Ephemeral Structures, Ephemeral Event

Trailers and tents.

Burning Man Aerial Photo

PROGRAMMATIC INTENT: AN EPHEMERAL PROGRAMMATIC

What is necessary to a building?

What makes a building responsive to human interaction and presence?

What and whose purposes are served when society destroys one building and erects another in its place?

- John Yau, The Anarchitectural Vision of Gordon Matta-Clark (1943-1978)

The ephemeral is relevant in the

for reconstructive purposes will be

discussion

of

as important as the reconstruction

because

describes

it

urban

intimacy an

event

that only occurs under specific

process

as

both

alter

spatial

relationships within the site.

conditions for a limited period of time.

Everyday life will begin to reinhabit spaces and produce an

In be

this

project,

generated

intimacy from

may

everyday

adhoc architecture that is both opportunistic

and

spontaneous.

interactions and from the predefi ned

As is the nature of this type of

performance.

construct, they are changeable once they begin to fail.

The theatre realises a cycle of construction and destruction of

All of these defi ne the ephemeral

both staged realities and urban

programmatic, but what permanent

performances.

frameworks are needed to facilitate

renewal,

All

therefore

sets

require

the

eventual

these interactions?

deconstruction of the stage sets

36

PROGRAMMATIC INTENT: A MANIFESTO FOR PRESERVATION

When the issue of preservation is

and economic decay, or cultural

removed from the ďŹ eld of archeology

engagement.

and deals instead with every day life, the motivations behind the act must

It takes time to build meaningful

shift to bring human interaction in to

social relationships, only then can

consideration.

transient experiences add to the discourse.

In is

this not

respect, about

preservation

reconstructing

an

I

will

investigate

the

idea

of

image of the past. As regeneration

preservation in terms of giving new

strategies in Tarlabsasi have already

meaning to existing buildings, re-

demonstrated, state devised plans

use of the ruin, and protection and

are only interested in preserving

enrichment of social character.

the

superďŹ cial

image

of

these

neighbourhoods.

The proposed may be controversial, but as we all know, controversy is a

These are not progressive methods of

highly visible thing that can be used

development as they do not address

productively.

underlying issues such as social

The Church Nightclub Denver

38

GOLDEN HORN HALIÇ

Site of Investigation

Süleymaniye Mosque

Istanbul University

SITE OF INVESTIGATION: SÜLEYMANIYE CONSERVATION AREA

Rise and Decline of a Neighbourhood

Set on the third hill, at the foot of the Süleymaniye Mosque complex from which it derives its name, the Süleymaniye Mahalle in Fatih was established around the 16th century as a primarily residential area for academics and the social elite.

However, social unrest in the Ottoman state during the 18th century sent the quarter into a decline which was solidified in the 20th century as Istanbul began its globalization development plan. The once exclusive neighbourhood saw the upper classes replaced by immigrants from other parts of Turkey. As such, the built fabric of the quarter has not been maintained by its new semi-transient population, contributing to the deterioration of the physical environment.

The area highly sought after due to its advantageous geographic location; proximity to the Süleymaniye Mosque for tourism, view of the Golden Horn, for example. As a consequence, all renewal efforts are directed towards gentrifying the area as an effort to attract upper class residents and push out the poor working class.

The majority of the current population is engaged in marginal jobs within the city but small private businesses and manufacturers still practice old crafts. The social structure, undesirable in the eyes of the Fatih Municipality is still vibrant despite the fragmentation of the urban fabric to make way for car parks and new Ottoman style housing developments.

40

SITE OF INVESTIGATION: SITE STUDY

This area of the Suleymaniye Mahalle will be used as the testing ground for the project.

The urban fabric still remains relatively dense in this area, despite parts of it being demolished to make way for car parks. In the area on the east, the process of gentriďŹ cation has begun to creep in and replace the older structures.

This site is rich with dierent programs and social groups and will therefore allow the project to speculate on the meetings between them through the staging of urban and theatrical performances.

Section through the neighbourhood.

Residential Coee House

Commercial

Car Park

Residential

Hamam

3

1

2

4

Corner Shop

Mosque

Car Park

Residential

New Residential

42

SITE OF INVESTIGATION: SITE PHOTOS

1

2

3

4

44

METHODOLOGY

My proposal aims to put forward

Both drawings and collages will

highly speculative studies into the

be used to discuss shifting scenes

notions of regeneration through the

during which speciďŹ c parts of a

removal of urban fabric.

narrative may be explored in detail.

This

project

has

an

inherently

Inhabitant and Building

iterative nature that will explore

Physical models will be used to

both imposed (scripted) changes and

initiate

speculated (unscripted) reactions in

tectonic intervention.

studies

of

removal

and

physical and relational conditions.

Spatial studies of the remaining Therefore, proposals will be explored

structure

to varying degrees of detail depending

determine

will

be

on the merits of their contribution to

connection to the external context.

their

conducted capacity

to for

the overall architectural discourse.

This will be used to develop a Transformations over Time

language of formal and informal

It is intended the project will be

structures that will provide the

developed

framework in which scenes of urban

with

the

time

based

consideration of intervention and reinhabitation.

intimacy may unfold.

SCOPE + SUBMISSION

The project will base speculations

building scale investigations will

primarily on a building scale of

be extrapolated to the urban scale,

1:200 to show the relationship with

where a 20 year speculative plan

its immediate context. However,

of development of the SĂźleymaniye

this will inform and be informed

area, at a scale of 1:1000, will be

by interactions at both urban and

proposed.

human scales.

The ďŹ nal presentation will explore The human scale considerations at

chosen moments within this timeline

a suggested scale of 1:50 will be

at all three scales simultaneously to

used to show the relationship to

demonstrate the reciprocal nature of

the body. It is particularly essential

the types of performances proposed.

in

establishing

the

speculative

territory of thresholds between

These

individuals and the urban fabric.

may change due to the iterative

submission

considerations

nature of the project.

The implications of these body and

46

APPENDICES:

STUDY OF KARTOFFELRÆKKERNE

In

1873,

the

Arbejdernes

indicate

attitudes

towards

the

Byggeforening (Worker s Building

perceived threshold between public

Society)

and private, and the placement

constructed

480

houses as a solution to the post

of

industrialisation population boom

understanding

personal

in Copenhagen. These are known

use,

as the Kartoffelrækkerne, otherwise

territories.

artefacts of

maintenance

give

an

frequency

of

and

engaged

The Potato Rows.

These are subtly shifting boundaries Personal

denote

defi ned by permanent and physical

ownership and occupation of the

possessions

barriers (such as fences and gates),

space, but the arrangement of these

and ephemeral ones defi ned by

personal artefacts are possibly not

objects.

as casual as they may appear at fi rst glance.

The notion of identity here is staged, an act to present symbols of social

The construction of these spaces

status to neighbours and passersby.

48

APPENDICES:

STUDY OF MOVEMENTS AND TERRITORIES IN TEA CULTURE

Drinking tea.

Serving tea.

Pouring tea.

While an intimate gesture such as

These

pouring tea is a eeting, momentary

physical territory occupied through

action,

is

movement. The notational system,

in

our

derived from Laban s dance notes

repeated

and

indicates subtle and small scale

but

permanently systems

its

familiarity

ingrained

through

practiced movements

drawings

body movements.

explore

the

APPENDICES:

STUDY OF THRESHOLDS IN THE MARKET

Exposure: the display of goods almost overwhelms the senses. Opportunities for intimate meetings with shopkeepers, other visitors and the objects for sale are numerous.

Concealment: after closing time, goods are hidden away and store fronts sealed. There is nothing in this space to encounter except cold metal shutters.

50

APPENDICES:

STUDY OF MOVEMENTS AND TERRITORIES IN THE MARKET

The marketplace is overlaid with multiple thresholds and territories. Each act of interaction with a shopkeeper or the entire sequence of movement from one end of the street to the other can be considered an event. Both scenarios involve negotiations between the transient and the permanent.

Interactions and territorial negotiations Observations in Hasicilar Cd.

52

BIBLIOGRAPHY Burning Man Festival: http://www.burningman.com/

Freely, John, Istanbul, The Imperial City, London : Penguin Books, 1996

Jenkins, Steven, City slivers and Fresh Kills, The ďŹ lms of Gordon Matta-Clark, San Francisco: San Fransisco Cinematheque, 2004

Makeham, Paul, Performing the City , Theatre Research International, Vol. 30, nr. 2, p.150 - 160

Mumford, Lewis , What is a City? . , Architectural Record, 1937 , p.92 - 96

Pallasmaa, Juhani, Hapticity and Time: Notes on Fragile Architecture.

Architectural Review, nr. 1239, p.78-84

Pamuk, Orhan, Istanbul, Memories of a City, London : Faber & Faber, FF, 2005

Punchdrunk: http://punchdrunk.com/

Tuan, Yi-Fu, Space and Place, The Perspective of Experience. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1977.

Vidler, Anthony. Warped Space: Art, Architecture, and Anxiety in Modern Culture. Boston: The MIT Press, 2000.

Woods, Lebbeus, Questioning Catastrophy: http://lebbeuswoods.wordpress. com/2012/01/23/questioning-catastrophe/

Woods, Lebbeus, War and Architecture: http://lebbeuswoods.wordpress. com/2011/12/15/war-and-architecture-three-principles/

54

CURRICULUM VITAE

EDUCATION

WORK

2012 - 2014

2011 - 2012

The Royal Danish Academy of Fine

1100 Architect.

Arts,

New York, USA.

School of Architecture.

Architectural Intern.

Copenhagen, Denmark.

MA Architecture, Afd. 2.

2007 BDP.

2008 - 2011

London, UK.

Cardiff University.

Work experience.

Cardiff, UK. BSc Architectural Studies.

2006 KSS. London, UK. Work experience.

56