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M EMORYS CA PE
city of layers
Taksim Square, with its layered structure, is an
statement “There are two types of people in
acropolis shaped through many eras. Formed
the world…” can be completed with endlessly
when a plate of the earth crust lifted suddenly
varying evaluations and each would be true.
from sea level, this area has been the place
Similar to this, we could talk about why Taksim
subjected to demonstrations of political power
is such a problematic location for days and
by the ruling party of its day in the past 50 years
the reasons we come up with would each be
of the Turkish Republic. In the last 20 years,
true as well. But the spatial solutions for these
it has been a ceaseless construction site, a
problems will not necessarily result in a good
problematic urban space that failed to connect
urban space. Whether the solution reached
with an entire generation of people.
might be the answer for a single problem or
It is impossible to create a good urban space
all existing problems, it still will not guarantee
from Taksim Square by just reforming and
a good urban space. Because this area is a
fixing its current problems like any other
sock. It is worn down, aged, it has many holes
square in the world. This is due to the area
which have been patched, and it has evolved
being excessively layered (historically, politically,
with each patch. And so pops John Locke into
geographically, demographically) and also it
our thoughts: If each hole in this sock has been
being an intersection point for the traces of
patched with a different fabric, is that sock still
the sparkling social life of the past empire and
the same sock? We hear Turgut Cansever say:
the modern republic’s social advances, trying
Does the gem (the essence) remain the same
to coexist. A sentence that begins with the
while the features change?
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