http://issuu.com/ksanalan/docs/sanalan_kaan_thesis_civic_compositi​

This thesis asserts that cities are growing in an inefficient way. Suburbia is a waste of resources (e.g land, energy, pollution, etc.). Vishaan Chakrabati, in his book A Country of Cities states “recent data from the U.S. suggests that economic growth and job creation are stronger in city center and poverty is rising faster in suburbs. There is also a link between climbing gasoline prices and foreclosure rates in suburban communities” (2013, p.12). Vehicular use caused by the growth of suburbs forces people to rely on the use of automobiles. Dispersed civic infrastructures and daily life activities, both in suburbia and in cities, result in the accumulation in commuting time and segregation of places by their use. This can lead to acceleration in pollution and traffic caused by the increased, and the necessary use of cars in modern day suburbs. How should our cities grow? How can we solve this issue in the long-term? 

    This thesis, “Civic Composition: An architectural Solution to an Urban Problem” proposes a solution to this ill growth; the composition of civic infrastructure, which will be an originator to a hyper-dense populated city, big enough to support public transportation and other amenities that less populated areas can not. This thesis, instead of banning the use of automobiles, will demonstrate preferable opportunities that will outline the difference between the suburbian and urban lifestyle, while stating that civic infrastructure should be concentrated in the city centers. 

    This thesis analyzes New Urbanism and civic building complexes in an urban context while approaching to the issue. As precedents, the New Urbanist projects are human oriented and they address contemporary problems (e.g congestion, pollution, waste of time) by creating pedestrian friendly areas, multiple foci or focus, and space at the regional level. These cities are public transportation oriented, mixed used, and high-density living projects.

      The thesis begins with an analysis of Ottoman structures, known as Kulliye. The Kulliye are good models of concentrated civic infrastructure.

      The project’s site is Houston, Texas, U.S. It is a novel move towards new urbanism by considering it in an urban scale, while incorporating civic buildings in it. This thesis can become possible with the ideology of the primary stage discussed above and the support of precedents. Contrary to the existing New Urbanism models, this proposal engages civic buildings at the urban scale. By learning from Kulliye and twentieth century civic American precedents, this thesis aims at fulfilling Leon Krier’s vision, “A city is not an accident but the result of coherent visions and aims. It is an invention of the human spirit” 

Kaan R. Sanalan

http://issuu.com/ksanalan/docs/sanalan_kaan_thesis_civic_compositi