Can a part of the city that has remained chaotic and idle for years become a qualified, art-generating, contemporary urban space?
MECIDIYEKOY ART
#architecture, #mecidiyeköy, #mecidiyeköyart, #artgallery, #bookstore, #istanbul
Information
MECIDIYEKOY ART
For decades, Mecidiyekoy square has been the black hole of the city for it was extremely exposed to dense traffic, noise and exhaust fumes, being located under the viaduct of public transportation. The development of the square is part of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality's plan to renovate the area in order to create a better physical environment nourished with contemporary art.
Within the scope of the 8000 m² Mecidiyekoy Square Masterplan developed by caps.office, two buildings were realized by KAAT: an art structure that people can watch along the pedestrian route and those who wish can enter to experience the exhibition, and a bookstore structure to emphasize the cultural regeneration of the square and its surroundings, which has been idle for years.
The buildings act as floating canopies in a way that allows them to be perceived uninterruptedly from the outside. Although they are exposed to intense vibration under the viaduct in an earthquake zone, large openings and cantilevers have been created by using highly advanced steel engineering and manufacturing. The 360-degree glass facade of the building is enriched with pivot glass doors, thus allowing leaks from the square to the building.
The project was completed in October 2021 and the buildings are now open to public ready for use.
Client
İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality
Location
İstanbul
Size
470 sqm
Program
Art Gallery & Bookstore
Status
Completed
Collaborators
Caps.Office
Selami GÜREL ( Metal Yapı Engineering & Consultancy)
Bengisu İLKSOY
Recep SEVİNÇ
SLM Engineering
Photo Credit : Orhun Ülgen Works
FLOATING CANOPIES & ART PRODUCTION UNDERNEATH
The canopies of the building and its flooring made of precast concrete elements describe a perfectly rounded quadrangle. One side of the glass façade between these two structural elements is fully folded and the other side opens with pivots to make the integration with the square and city life possible.
Mecidiyeköy square has been remained inactive for years as an urban black hole that could not even be called a square. The area, which has taken a place in the city's memory in this way, has gained a completely different identity with qualified landscape analysis and strategic positioning of the programs that will feed the square.
This area, which contains the city's residential and commercial stocks, has a dense pedestrian circulation. While the constructed promenade is supported by sitting benches, it is enriched with art and bookstore structures on the other hand.
A meeting and breathing space that generates art from under an inactive viaduct.