1900-1920
1920-1940
1940-1960
1960-1980
2000-Today
1980-2000
D5A2H9P4
1900-1920
GREEN SYSTEM
HUMAN TOPOGHRAPHY Taksim is the heart of Istanbul and Istanbul is the city where cultures meet literally and historically. Every day of the year, day and night, people pour to Taksim. Metaphorically, Taksim shapes people; in turn, people shape Taksim, thus the notion of human topography: People arrive, people meet, people wait, people rest, people celebrate, people remember, people vindicate their rights, people work, people move or cross, people share ideas, people inform themselves and take responsibility about the city, people sell, people buy, people read or pray, people participate in a concert, in a meeting, in an institutional or anti-institutional manifestation, people eat and take a drink, people contact with nature trees, birds and water. The movements of the square, grades, slopes, embankments, plans, lighting, and shadows, adapt themselves to the topography of the place and the richness of this human topography in different seasons with sun, rain, wind or snow. Taksim and Gezi Park is the place where territory and city meet, is the place where nature and artifice connect. Human topography of Taksim continually changes during the years adapting to the socio-political climate of the country and the world. This social and physical transformation of urban space brings new typologies to the public realm and manifest itself on the architecture and lifestyle. In the first place, before the Military Barracks emerge, Taksim was a periurban, mostly cemetery site called “Gardens of cities.” Later, the area, “Taksim Garden,” become the first public park of Istanbul, During the Military Barracks time, the courtyard and the surroundings of the building have significant use for outdoor military exercises, social gatherings, and sports. In a sense, landscape and artifice are inseparable and from the beginning: they do not exist as discrete units in the urban landscape but become a stage for one and other. We pursue a similar notion to our project because we believe a collision will start if they become individual entities of capitalist world views.
Gezi Park and Taksim square coexist in the middle of a very dense urban matrix. Even though their physical properties are distinct, this duality constructs an interdependence of functions and complexity of discourses and actions. The present project recognizes the richness of relationships between nature and artifice, and the plurality of uses in such a vast urban space. Gezi Park is essential than ever in the midst of climate change, and the public space is more critical than ever for social cohesion and equity. Thus this project focuses both on mitigating the effects of climate change and providing a breath of new public functions. .The project starts with seeking elements to create a sense of space. A military barracks historically defined the border of the Gezi Park and provided the square a distinct and clear urban scale. The demolition of the barracks opened the space with a powerful connection to the surrounding green areas, but the square lost its enclosure and legibility. The project does not build the old border. Instead, it develops a strategy to recover the spatially and socially coherent public space. In the project, we will use material content to represent the confluence of people and cultures. The diversity of stones, colors, textures will tell a lot about the importance of cultural diversity as a powerful and necessary element to construct public spaces in contemporary society The current human topography is diverse and with ever-changing needs and expectations from a public space. People with different ethnic and religious backgrounds and nationalities pours to Taksim every day. Also, different age groups and people with various levels of abilities/ disabilities utilize the space. It is a twenty-four-hour flow of people every day of the year..
In the project. we will use material content to represent the confluence of people and cultures. The diversity of stones.colors. textures will tell a lot about the importance of cultural diversity as a powerful and necessary element to construct public spaces in contemporary society. We will also use water to explain the identity of the space. Taksim means, confluence historically confluence of the hydraulic system. In the project. water becomes the support for artistic. reflective. and scenographic interventions as a mirror reflecting a piece of sky or the faces of people and nature.
Existing green areas look fragmented due to historical land use development, mainly occurred after the 1950s. Park No 2 of the Prost Plan changed by the invasion of the hotel and some military campus functions and dissected by transportation Networks, hence diminished in ecological value. The coastal line lack green parks. The main axes of movement lack greening to provide a comfortable walk, especially in summer times. TRANSPORTATION
In addition. we will emphasize diversity not only socio-culturally but also biologically. Biodiversity will become a main theme in connecting people with nature. It will be a lens within which people will understand future technology.
The accessibility of the competition site is possible by different modes of transportation medium and pedestrian ways. Subway and sea transportation brings people from everywhere in the metropolitan area while the public bus and dolmuş also serve to bring people to their jobs and schools everyday. And yet, a significant number of people uses their vehicle which creates traffic jam during the rush hours. LANDMARKS
Taksim square and surrounding environments are the most vibrant areas in terms of historically and culturally significant landmarks nor only from the Byzantian and Ottoman times but also in the Republican era. This rich cultural mosaic reflects a multinational, multicultural, multi-religion context that is unique to the site. The area is not only a center for education, business, and commerce but also a hub of social and political discourses and actions.
1 : 2000 MASTER PLAN
SPATIAL PROPOSALS The proposed green system relies on the existing parks and approaches to the city from a green network point of view. Gezi Park is an essential part of the urban ecology. Because the urban mosaic is very congested, the opportunities are related to the infrastructure lines and coastal front. We propose opening up the garden of the Ataturk Library to the public, and also utilizing the green patch on the other side of the street towards the east as a water retention park. will serve as public recreational space. is currently fragmented by construction sites along the Kabataş- Fındıklı direction. Once the underground transportation projects finish, the waterfront can be a green corridor along the sea. In the green system scheme,
We also propose a coastal green park system which is currently fragmented by construction sites along the Kabataş- Fındıklı direction. Once the underground transportation projects finish, the waterfront can be a green corridor along the sea. In the green system scheme, we also propose a green rail system which is successfully working for Izmir, for instance. The tramway from Kabataş to Historical Peninsula can be much greener. Last, of all, we propose improving the tree cover of all the primary street axes flowing in and out of the Taksim area. These street greening can also benefit from bioswales and rain gardens to collect urban runoff, which is a novel strategy in the proposed project. We propose a loop around the Ataturk Library lot to ease the rush hour traffic on the Taskisla junction. There is a closed street between the library and the military site. This road is also a need for vehicle access to the new AKM building parking structure on the east.