Istanbul AD 3.1 Sarah Wardrope 077082097 “It was a brutal symbiosis: Western observers love to identify the things that make Istanbul exotic, non-western, whereas the westernisers amongst us register all the same things as obstacles to be erased from the face of the city as fast as possible.” Orhan Pamuk, ‘Istanbul: Memories and the City’, 2005, p218
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Istanbul ANALYSIS Townscape Studies “THE CITY ORIENTEERER” Precedent SOPHIE CALLE & JEAN BAUDRILLARD Townscape Studies OBSERVING THE CITY Site Mapping Architectural Interpretation of an Existing Narrative Brief Site Development Site Model Site Plan Car Park Study Axonometric Vertical Elements Experimental Film Research Experimental Film BURIED COLOURS Elevation & Visuals Sections Plans
Istanbul ANALYSIS In the week before leaving for Istanbul we used the time to research and analyze Istanbul. Looking at the titles:
Scoring the Path
“The crowd is his element, as the air is that of birds and water of fishes” This quote is from an essay written by Charles Baudelaire which begins to describe the concepts of the flaneur, a person who is at home when they are away from home and desire to aimlessly wander the city to experience it for what it has to offer. Taking forward the idea of experiencing the city we drew upon existing texts of townscape studies to produce a set of experiments that could be completed upon arrival in Istanbul. Tschumi’s “no architecture without action” formed the basis behind the experiments, following the thinking that to truly experience a place you have to cause an action which may allow you to reassess the situation you are in or to disjoint yourself from your daily routes and lifestyle.
The City Orienteerer
Taking precedent from the aimless wanders of the flaneur, we set out an arbitary grid across Istanbul that would determine the destinations we would aim for. After numbering each point, we would then ask a passerby to direct us to the destination through conversation and drawing maps. The information gathered would then be recorded in the newspaper issued from that day putting our actions in context with all the actions of the city.
An investigation into alternative methods of recording the journeys we make by producing a “score” or notation system that could be read and interpreted universally in a similar way to music. Taking reference and influence from previous attempts by designers including Halprin, Lynch, Hanoch-Roe, Appleyard and Myer, the proposed system will be adapted to suit an urban context. The resulting “score” could be used as a design tool, analysis tool. comparison tool or simply a record of the journey.
Observing the City
To gain an understanding into the daily experience undergone by the people who inhabit Istanbul, a series of journeys will be taken and recorded by effectively stalking a random person. This is hoped to highlight where people who use Istanbul everyday get their shopping, cross junctions or meet friends, showing any habits that the city has lended to the locals.
Historical Development Historical Narrative The European Capital of Culture Programme and its Legacy 2010 Modernity and the Cinema in Istanbul Image of the City Transport Urban Space, Orientation, Prospect and Aspect Building Typology, Form and Materials Building Analysis Townscape Studies Memories of the City The Relationship of the City to Water The Futures of the City We were able to create a comprehensive document that became invaluable when visiting Istanbul as well as in the weeks after our return.
Istanbul TOWNSCAPE STUDIES “The City Orienteerer” Directions were given... ... Directions were followed... ... and noted down. Then compiled in a newspaper.
Istanbul TOWNSCAPE STUDIES “The City Orienteerer” FILM STILLS
Please follow me is a collaborative project created by Sophie Calle and Jean Baudrillard. Primarily concerned with the concept of tracing.
“It’s as if someone behind him knew that he was going nowhere - it is in some way robbing him of his objective: seducing him. The cunning demon of seduction slips between him and himself, between you and him. This is so powerful that people can often sense they are being followed, through some sort of intuition that something has penetrated their space, altering its curvature - a feeling of being reflected without knowing it.” Jean Baudrillard, PLEASE FOLLOW ME, p77
The text is made up of the correlation bewteen two very different works: an annotated photographic investigation and a scholarly analysis of that investigation. Resulting in a seduction which guides the reader into an awareness of their own corresponding investigations and analyses of the texts. Sophie Calle combines sporadic narratives with traced maps and photographs collected while following “Henri B.” (one of many strangers who she followed and photographed in Paris in late January 1980). Followed but lost all too quickly in a crowd. Coincidentally Calle was introduced to “Henri B.” at an art opening and discovers through the course of a brief conversation that he is planning a trip to Venice. She decides people following to a new level, embarking upon a journey to the labyrinthine city of Venice where she searches out, locates, and trails the near-stranger for a total of fourteen days. Throughout the course of her investigation, she learns of his whereabouts, his plans, and his reasons for visiting from others. She photographs him, photographs what he photographs, and maps out their journey together through the city from the perspective of his shadow. Even after he becomes aware of her presence and confronts her with his gaze, she continues. What her experiment produces is a small collection of black and white photographs and a narrative that resembles an itinerary.
SOPHIE CALLE & JEAN BAUDRILLARD PLEASE FOLLOW ME 1988
Istanbul TOWNSCAPE STUDIES ‘Observing the City� Discovering the personal relationship between the City and the Individual - A person was chosen at random... then followed until they interacted or encountered another individual. - The route of the person was then recorded through photographs and diagrams. The result was a snapshot of the lives of Istanbul residents, and indication of the way they use the City - where they go, the routes they take and the people they choose to interact with.
Observation 1: Start: Gunesli Sk Person: Female/60+ End: Taksim Square Length of Observation: 20 minutes
Istanbul SITE MAPPING One evening a group of four of us went up to Area C to observe our sites in the evening. Using a small torch and a long exposure on an SLR Camera we created the following images of a route through Area C, starting at Taksim Square, passing each of the students sites (year 2 and year 3), finishing up at the Istanbul Modern. By carrying out this study we were able to observe the area at night time. The mapping started at approximately 7pm, and didn’t finish until 1am, therefore, we had a full eveing experience. We discovered which areas and streets were occupied in the evening hours and areas of high and low traffic at these times. We also experienced the general atmosphere of the area, moving from highly populated public areas, to residential, then to isolated run down sites, and back to public again. One of the most stiking things that came through in the images is the change in lighting moving through the area. I think they tell a clear story of our route, and identify the public, residential and more isolated areas quite clearly.
Istanbul SITE MAPPING 4 students walked from Taksim Square, to the Istanbul Modern art gallery in the north of Istanbul, passing each site in the area. They filmed 4 views: FORWARD. BACKWARD. SIDE. DOWNWARD. The footage was then collaborated and made into a film mapping the area.
Istanbul ARCHITECTURAL INTERPRETATION OF AN EXITING NARRATIVE Personal space exploration FILM: Leeds A film looking at how residents of the UK react to personal space, focusing in this case on Leeds. In general Western European Cultures are more reserved than their Eastern neighbours, preferring to maintain a greater distance of personal space. People tend to keep atleast 2-3ft between eachother. Touching is kept to a minimum, with a greeting of a hand shake being suffice.
Istanbul ARCHITECTURAL INTERPRETATION OF AN EXITING NARRATIVE Personal space exploration FILM: Istanbul A film looking at how residents of Turkey react to personal space, focusing in this case on Istanbul. In general Eastern European Cultures are more open than their Western neighbours, and personal space tends to be very close. It is common to see men holding hands with eachother, and greetings are very ‘friendly’. However, with the Muslim beliefs it can be quite contradicting with touching between the opposite sex being limited in public.
“ARCHITECTURE EXISTS, LIKE CINEMA IN THE DIMENSION OF TIME AND MOVEMENT. ONE CONCIEVES AND READS A BUILDING IN TERMS OF SEQUENCE. TO ERECT A BUILDING IS T PREDICT AND SEEK EFFECTS OF CONTRAST AND LINKAGE THROUGH WHICH ONE PASSES (...). IN THE CONTINUOUS SHOT/SEQUENCE THAT A BUILDING IS, THE ARCHITECT WORKS WITH CUTS AND EDITS, FRAMINGS AND OPENINGS.” JEAN NOUVEL
Istanbul BRIEF The project is to design an intervention which reflects identified needs in a very specific urban context.
TURKISH CONTEMPORARY FILM INSTITUTE Accommodation: Foyer Bar Cinema Space x2 - up to 150 seats each External Projection Space Projection Room Experimental Projection Space Creative Studio Darkrooms Toilets
Tamas Levai
Carmody Groarke
James Turrell
FILM VIEWING FORM OF ESCAPISM A WAY OF ABSORBING YOURSELF IN SOMEONE ELSES LIFE AND STORY OBSERVING... FOLLOWING... STALKING “People can often sense they are being followed, through some sort of intuition that something has penetrated their space, altering its curvature - a feeling of being reflected without knowing it.” Jean Baudrillard. Please Follow Me.
VOYEUR > WALKER > FLANEUR... BLURRED BOUNDARIES THE CITY INTRUDES ON YOUR PERSONAL SPACE CULTURAL BACKGROUNDS DEFINE OR USE OF SPACE, TERRITORY AND TOUCHING INTIMATE SPACE 0.45m > PERSONAL SPACE 1.2m > SOCIAL SPACE 3.6m > PUBLIC SPACE 7.6m JOURNEY > SOCIAL INTERACTION > WHAT IS A ‘SAFE’ DISTANCE? PERSONAL SPACE DISTANCES DICTATED ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS, DETERMINED BY AGE, EXPERIENCE, MOOD, HEALTH, SITUATION, ACTIVITY... CHALLENGE: PEOPLE > ROUTINE > MOVEMENT “Spontaneous response to the challenge of irrationality, has been destroyed by the habits of reason.” Jean Baudrillard. Please Follow Me.
Site Plan 1:2500
Istanbul Istanbul is located in the northwest of Turkey. It lies on the Bosphorus strait and encompasses the natural harbour known as the Golden Horn. Istanbul is the only metropolis in the world situated on two continents - Europe and Asia.
Cihangir The site is located in the north of the city, in Cihangir, a neighborhood in the Beyoglu district. The area has seen a great deal of change since the second half of the 19th Century, as Europeans acquired land and began building residential developments. By the 1970’s Cihangir was known as a neighborhood where Anatolian migrants lived alongside artists and intellectuals.
Site Previously a public park, also housing a cat shelter. In 2009 the park was demolished and replaced with a multi-storey car park, with landscaped square/park on top. Sloping site with public park access to the North-west and car access to the Southeast. Car park sinks up to 16m below ground (from highest point of the site). Limited veiws due to surrounding residential tenament style apartments. - an open space in a densly packed residential area. Current building is clad in heavy solid stone.
Flâneur Wanderer in the city Immersed in the crowd, but isolated by it.
“We move within a closed landscape whose landmarks constantly draw us toward the past. Certain angles, certain receding perspectives, allow us to glimpse original conceptions of space.” Gilles Ivain. Formulary for a New Urbanism. 1953
Istanbul DEVELOPMENT TURKISH CONTEMPORARY FILM INSTITUTE
- Solitary space surrounded by the ‘hustle and bustle’ of City life. personal - Routes through spaces could
be planned so that visitors never take the same journey.
- Vertical elements begin to inform spaces above and below levels.
social
- Challenge: people - routine - movement - Interaction with existing car park and structure - break through floors and create new levels
public
Edges
Views
Access
Solar
Wind
Topography Metres above sea level 50-60
The site is surrounded by high rise residential apartements, each varying in roof height.
Due to the surrounding residential apartments, views from the site are limited.
It is overlooked from all angles.
There is one view out to the sea - located through a small gap between two residential blocks.
It was important to maintain a low level as to not interfere with existing views and access to daylight.
To optimise on the view it was essential to orientate the my intervention at the correct angle.
Currently the public access the park from the west elevation, and cars access the car park from the east elevation. In order for the car park to continue to function as a car park, car access to the east will remain. To suport the safety of the cinemas users, and also to encourage use of the landscaped park, access to the cinema will be through the park, from the west.
Even though the site is surrounded by high apartment blocks, the road to the east is wide. This means the site has its highest solar gain in the morning hours To allow and take advantage of the sites solar gain cut-throughs into the car park, to allow natural daylighting would be most effective to the east of the site.
60-75
75-90
Istanbul experiences a predominently Northnortheasterly wind in summer months and a south westerly wind in winter months.
The park itself is on two levels. The car park has 6 levels, and goes 16m below ground
Due to the sheltered nature of the site, it does not suffer too much from high wind speeds. With the average wind speed in the area being 10knots, that is merely a gentle breeze.
The land surrounding the site slopes on either side from the northwest corner (highest point) to the southeast corner (lowest point).
Together with the sheltering from the high-rise apartments and the relatively low winds speeds predominently
This existing slope provides a revealing quality to the intervention, allowing different views into the space from the varying levels. It also allows my intervention to go underground but still allow it to stand alone as a strong viusl structure.
- Existing car park volume.
- Remove existing stone cladding, revealing concrete structure, and allowing natural ventilation to car park. - Area for intervention identified. - Hollow out existing structure. Peel back floors to allow intervention to be inserted.
Istanbul SITE Site Model
Istanbul SITE
Istanbul SITE
Site map THEN.
Site map THEN.
scale 1:500
scale 1:500
Istanbul CAR PARK STUDY Capturing glimpses into the car park. Looking at keeping an interaction between the cinema users and the daily activity happening within the existing car-park. Contrast from the dark and reflective qualities within the cinema, into the stark fluorescent light of the car-park.
Capturing movement and interaction of cars within the car park
LANDSCAPED PARK
BAR
ENCLOSED CINEMA SCREENS PROJECTION ROOMS
RAMP ACCESS THROUGH THE BUILDING, INCLUDING INCORPORATED OPEN AIR CINEMA
red indicates STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS SERVICE CORES - LIFT - TOILETS - DARKROOMS - STAFF AREAS
EXISTING MULTI-STOREY CAR PARK, INCLUDING EMERGENCY ESCAPE CORES
red indicates HEATING AND VENTILATION ELEMENTS
red indicates LIGHTING ELEMENTS
Istanbul VERTICAL ELEMENTS STRUCTURAL HEATING. VENTILATION. ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING. DAYLIGHTING. The veritcal elements will not only act on an aesthetic level, but they will also become a way to service the building. Larger elements will create the supporting structure, follwed by elements for heating and cooling of the cinema screens, as well as elements to light the whole building, either by bringing daylight down from above, or artificially.
Week 1:
Week 2:
Week 3:
Week 4:
The session began by collectively applying direct film animation to Super8: painting scratching drawing -a strong physical introduction to the Super8 format as an artistic medium.
The first hour of this session was spent unearthing a pre-buried film to see the effects the micro-organisms in the soil on the film emulsion.
This session was the first chance for filming out and about in Leeds.
Hand processing the films in the dark room.
Using a Braun Nizo Super8 camera and one colour Super8 film, we were able to practices using the filming techniques learnt in Week 2.
We learnt how to process our films professionally using the famed Russian ‘Lomo Tank’ method, as well as how to process in a more DIY fashion using more easily accessible equipment.
We then covered the history of the format: contemporary use available film stocks how film actually works (including ASA ratings, emulsion types, colour and black and white film)
A screening of experimental films made on Super8 helped me to begin thinking creatively about what is possible.
We were also shown how to partially bleach the image off film with household bleach, offering further methods of experimentation physically with some found footage. Directions on how to operate high-end Super8 cameras, covering every aspect of the camera’s functions, were shared and discussed. By the end of this session, I was able to use the camera in multiple ways, and had learnt tricks and tips: better focusing setting the camera to each individual eye depth of field film speeds exposure how to obtain special effects Optional lenses and filters were also be covered, with effects demonstrated through a demonstration of films made in this way. Creative discussion was active throughout the session.
Istanbul EXPERIMENTAL FILM RESEARCH Super8 FILM COURSE CHERRY KINO, LEEDS an 8-week film course working exclusively with Super8 film! By the end of the 8 weeks I had produced an experimental film called:
BURIED COLOURS On the following pages there are stills of an experimental Super8 film made during the 8 week Super8 film course with FilmLAB Cherry Kino. This film was created from footage taken on a dull morning filming in Leeds. I edited out the underexposed and ‘uninteresting’ frames, then buried them in my back garden. I left them there for 8days, then removed them, cleaned them up and spliced them back together - creating this film.
Access to all the camera accessories was available: cable releases trick and coloured lenses - in order to make the most of the experimental possibilities New ways of recording images and encouragement to move away from linear narrative tendencies was strived. There was also an emphasis on being present whilst filming (moving towards the ‘in camera edit’ approach), rather than the ‘capture everything now’ mentality that often accompanies digital filming methods. We were encouraged to make good use of the camera’s many functions, to really explore the potential of our first Super8 cartridge.
We learnt about how film processing actually works, where to obtain the chemistry, and how to process economically. The session also functioned as a masterclass on alternative processes too: cross-processing the films to obtain different colour palettes solarisation methods replacing one chemical step with another (using a technique Cherry Kino personally developed to achieve strong colour saturation)
By the end of the session, we had had a hands-on experience of processing our own film, including full comprehensive information on how to apply new and exciting processes. The session ended with a screening of the processed films. I then took my film home to bury it, in preparation for Week 5.
Week 5: This session began with an introduction to analog projection, and how to use Super8 projectors: loading the film adding leader trouble-shooting and experimental projection
Week 6:
Week 7:
Week 8:
We again had the opportunity to shoot and process a second Super8 colour film, followed by individually hand processing it (with the option of using any of the experimental methods previously taught).
This was the primary editing session of the course.
As a group, we shot one black and white Super8 film together, and hand-process the film to negative using ‘Caffenol’ – a processing solution made with coffee!
We then projected our second film in an informal screening at the end of the session.
(using prisms and mirrors, for example)
We were also encouraged to experiment with the varying speeds and functions of the projectors, to actively perform our film. We then moved on to hand-editing the Super8 films with splicers, using the projectors as our editing tools, and introducing other methods such as using a light box and a Super8 viewer.
We were able to selectively apply the knowledge we had learnt, and whereas the first film had been our first experience of Super8, the second film enabled us to be more disciplined and directed in our approach. One of the great myths to be exploded on the course was that ‘experimental’ film is indeed simply an experiment – whilst it certainly embraces the experiment, it is in fact a highly refined and diverse movement in art, and this was stressed.
We were able to draw together the footage from both Super8 films into least) one completed film, editing by hand with splicers.
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We then shared one Super8 film to create the credits for our films using experimental techniques, and hand-processed the film.
This was a fun introduction to collaborative work and the world of innovative ‘underground’ film processes.
At the end of the session, we learnt how to telecine all the films added), transferring them to a digital format.
While the film was drying we discussed the history of film as an artistic medium, and the role of DIY film labs in the modern era of analog filmmaking.
(with credits
Whilst many consider analog film to be an almost obsolete medium, this session opened our eyes to the vibrant culture that continues to grow around analog artist film, and inspired us to continue to explore it in our own practices. The session was concuded with a tutorial on getting your work shown internationally: submit a film to a festival writing a succinct synopsis presentation the best film festivals to submit experimental work to In addition, we discussed the increasingly important role of art galleries, independent cinemas (such as the Cube in Bristol and the Star and Shadow in Newcastle), and distribution.
Istanbul NORTHWEST ELEVATION 1:200
Open air cinema
Ramp
Istanbul SECTION AA 1:100
Istanbul SECTION BB 1:200
Istanbul SECTION CC 1:100
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Istanbul PLAN +5600 1:200 1 2 3 4 5
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Cinema Screen Open air cinema Projection Room Emergency Exit Lift
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Istanbul PLAN +1300 1:200 1 2 3 4
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Cinema Screen Open air cinema Emergency Exit Lift
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Istanbul PLAN -1300 1:200 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 -
Cinema Screen Open air cinema Emergency Exit Lift Experimental Film Studios & Darkrooms (under cinema screens and toilet blocks)