Archinect - News

Renzo Piano on the elemental approach to his newly-opened Istanbul Modern design

2023-06-13T15:14:00-04:00

If you are an architect, you have to understand what the genius of the place is, and you have to catch the spirit of the place, and Istanbul is about the water [...] And the Istanbul Modern is about a dialogue between the building and the water.

RPBW’s first project in Turkey comes as the country begins its rebuilding following the devastating February earthquake. Towards this concern, Piano says, “When you make a place for people for art and music, accessibility and safety are fundamental elements.”

A survey of his past work titled Genius Loci also “examines in detail the design process and structural components of Istanbul Modern’s new building” and remains on view in its first-floor library.

The museum opened to the public on May 4th.

Previously on Archinect: Renzo Piano’s Istanbul Modern museum opens in Turkey

Istanbul's conservators are scrambling to protect heritage sites from disaster

2023-06-02T11:48:00-04:00

Conservators in Istanbul are racing to safeguard scores of at-risk heritage sites in the wake of Turkey’s deadliest earthquake in modern history, bracing for the probability of an even greater disaster in a city straddling an active faultline.

Consequences of incumbent President Recep Erdoğan’s culture wars and the fallout of a “real-estate mentality that supersedes cultural heritage” have become unnecessary obstacles for volunteers who are up against the impossible challenge of securing 35,000 heritage sites around Istanbul seismically.

February’s deadly Turkey-Syria earthquake primarily affected the country’s easternmost provinces, but still, the metro’s location north of the precarious North Anatolian Fault means the seismic “triage” measures being performed now might not be in place in time for a similar quake scientists say has a very strong likelihood of occurring within the next two decades.

Renzo Piano’s Istanbul Modern museum opens in Turkey

2023-05-03T14:06:00-04:00

The first dedicated museum of modern and contemporary art in Turkish history is finally opening its doors this week following the completion of the Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW)-designed Istanbul Modern in the country’s most populous city.

Clad in an “iridescent” envelope of aluminum paneling that aims to resemble the scales of a fish, the 110,000-square-foot facility overlooks Istanbul’s Karaköy waterfront at the confluence of the Bosphorus Strait and Golden Horn waterways. In its site placement and silhouette, the structure evokes the passage of a ship through the harbor. The building’s ground floor is made transparent by a glass curtain wall that showcases two site-specific works by Richard Wentworth and Olafur Eliasson while offering visitors a panoramic view of the ongoing $1.8 billion Galataport development beyond.

Image: © Cemal Emden

RPBW says this material transparency “reflects the ethos of the museum: A multifaceted experience offering visitors audience-oriented exh...

More damage reported at Hagia Sophia as conversion impacts grow

2022-06-30T16:55:00-04:00

A number of marble tiles on the floor of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, which was turned back into a mosque in 2020 after serving as a historical museum for decades, have reportedly been cracked by heavy machinery used to clean the building last week.

“It’s like a fairground now,” one tour guide reportedly told the Turkish opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet in reference to the change in status that occurred in 2020, when the site was reconverted into a mosque and conferred back into the auspices of the Department of Religious Affairs following an edict from President Recep Erdoğan.

The conversion of one of its original World Heritage Sites has drawn the ire of UNESCO, who says it is “gravely concerned.” In the past, Erdoğan, who is facing a potential unseating in the elections next year, has called the project “a symbol of the re-rising of the sun of our civilization.”

Turkey's spat with UNESCO over the Hagia Sophia just grew a little deeper

2021-07-27T17:29:00-04:00

UNESCO has once again officially expressed its “deepest regrets” and is now asking for an updated report on the conservation of the Hagia Sophia site in Istanbul, Turkey, adding another chapter to the embattled country’s ongoing feud with the UN’s cultural apparatus.

The body held its annual meeting Friday to discuss the status of and possible threats to an artificially long list of World Heritage Sites that has backlogged thanks to COVID-related delays of UNESCO’s 44th conference.

The group has sparred with Turkey over the temple-turned-museum that was recently converted into a mosque despite significant backlash on the part of UNESCO and other international organizations.

UNESCO said it has “grave concern” over changes to the character of the Hagia Sophia and another site called the Chora Monastery, and is now formally requesting a report from the Turkish government due no later than February 1st.

Previously on Archinect: Hagia Sophia: mosque conversion confirmed by presidential ...

Hagia Sophia: mosque conversion confirmed by presidential decree

2020-07-10T18:15:00-04:00

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a decree Friday ordering Hagia Sophia to be opened for Muslim prayers, an action likely to provoke international furor around a World Heritage Site cherished by Christians and Muslims alike for its religious significance, stunning structure and as a symbol of conquest.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan followed through on his plan today to convert Istanbul's famed Hagia Sophia, a Unesco world heritage site, into a mosque. The presidential decree was issued within minutes after Turkey’s administrative court revoked the museum status that the sixth-century structure had been assigned by Turkey's first President, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, in 1934 — itself a conversion from its previous designation as a mosque since the 15th century.

Photo: Filip Filipović

"Entry to the monument would be free of charge, foregoing the ticket price from several million visitors a year, and the first prayers inside Hagia Sophia will take place on July 24," reports The New York Times.

Erdoğan's intention had drawn international criticism in recent months and is likely to prompt reactions from Western heads of state.

Turkey's plan to convert Hagia Sophia museum into mosque draws international criticism

2020-07-07T15:01:00-04:00

The Greek government says that Turkey will violate Unesco’s conservation rules if President Recep Tayyip Erdogan moves ahead with plans to turn the historic Hagia Sophia site in Istanbul—currently a museum—into a mosque.

After plans by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to turn Istanbul's most iconic historic site from a museum into a mosque caused international condemnation last year, Unesco has now been invited by the Greek government to weigh in on the proposed conversion, reports The Art Newspaper.

Interior of the Hagia Sophia in 2009. Photo: Wikimedia Commons user Tranxen.

Built in the sixth century as a Christian cathedral, the Hagia Sophia was once converted into a mosque when the Ottomans conquered Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) in the 15th century but declared a museum by the first President of the then new secular Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, in 1935. The site gained Unesco world heritage status in 1985.

Istanbul-based pavilion facilitates public design collaboration

2020-03-03T18:44:00-05:00

In collaboration with Istanbul residents, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality has begun a process of revitalizing and redesigning a number of notable public spaces with a goal of heightening the quality of life within the city. As a part of this initiative, the municipality will open urban design competitions for proposed interventions in various public squares in Istanbul with a focus on Takism Square.

Photos by Hacer Bozkurt. Courtesy of IND.

To facilitate this public design process, IND [Inter.National.Design] designed Convergence Shop, a pavilion that will work as a vehicle in implimenting the series of events required to realize the city's vision. Workshops, panels, exhibitions, and forums will be held inside the pavilion in Takism Square. Moreover, Convergence Stop will soon be relocated to other locations such as Bakırköy Square and Kadıköy Square to serve similar purposes.

Photo by Okan Ulusoy. Courtesy of IND.

Section drawing by IND.

Photo by Okan Ulusoy. Courtesy of IND.

Made...

Flexform furnishes the beautiful Nidapark Istinye residential complex in Istanbul

2019-06-24T12:22:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by Flexform

Rising in the high-end neighborhood of Istinye, one of the most fascinating and historic areas of this major Turkish metropolis, the Nidapark Istinye residential complex occupies a prime location, with magnificent views of the sea. This ultra-luxurious complex includes 55 buildings, 538 apartments and amenities such as a health spa, indoor and outdoor pools, concierge service, and a 48000 sqm park. A lush vertical garden is located on the ground floor of the main building, near the reception/concierge area.

Reception Area. Image courtesy of Flexform

Furniture shown in image: Lifesteel sofa, Lysandre armchairs, Jacques and Giano end tables. Image courtesy of Flexform

Furniture shown in image: Guscio armchairs, Carmen ottoman, Jacque console, Fauno side table. Image courtesy of Flexform

Model apartments feature a unique combination of furnishings from the Flexform and Flexform Mood collections. The spacious, light-filled living room is furnished wi...

Six cutting-edge arts venues to be transformed into interdisciplinary schools at this year’s Istanbul Design Biennial

2018-09-19T20:29:00-04:00

Set to kick off on September 22nd, the 4th Istanbul Design Biennial will bring the city’s multi-layered cultural heritage and dynamic ecosystem of creativity to life. Named a ‘Design City’ by UNESCO last year, the Second Rome provides the perfect backdrop to host the biennial, which has emerged over the years as a crucial center for critical thinking around design in a country increasingly isolated by its political situation.

Given this context, the theme for this year’s edition is “A School of Schools.” Exploring the possibilities of design education in the 21st century, the biennial will take place across six iconic cultural institutions around the city, transforming the various art venues into sites of investigation. The world-class Pera Museum, for example, will become home to the Scales School, looking at the standards, norms, and taxonomies of learning. Another, the Digestion School, where participants can learn about metabolic systems and patterns of consumption, will be held...

Apply now for 2018 AA Istanbul Visiting School - Robotic Mediations!

2018-05-31T08:00:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by AA Istanbul Visiting School.

AA ISTANBUL VISITING SCHOOL – ROBOTIC MEDIATIONS Monday June 25 – Friday 6 July 6, 2018

AA Istanbul Visiting School, in collaboration with Istanbul Bilgi University, is a unique learning and making experience. The program continues to build on its expertise on generative design methodologies and large- scale prototyping techniques from previous years, while bringing together a range of experts from internationally acclaimed academic institutions and practices, Architectural Association, Zaha Hadid Architects, among others.

AA Istanbul Visiting School investigates the inherent associations between form, material, and structure through the rigorous implementation of innovative design and fabrication techniques. Computational methods for design, analysis, and fabrication are coupled with physical experimentation, fostering ‘learning-by- experimentation’ in an active collaborative studio environment. Throughout the design and ...

Apply now for 2018 AA Istanbul Visiting School - Robotic Mediations!

2018-04-12T12:13:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by AA Istanbul Visiting School.

AA ISTANBUL VISITING SCHOOL – ROBOTIC MEDIATIONS
Monday June 25 – Friday 6 July 6, 2018

Deadline to apply for AA Istanbul Visiting School is approaching

2017-05-22T03:00:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by AA Istanbul Visiting School.

ROBOTIC MEDIATIONS
Wednesday, June 28th-Friday, July 7th, 2017

AA Istanbul Visiting School, in collaboration with Istanbul Bilgi University, is a unique learning and making experience. The program continues to build on its expertise on generative design methodologies and large-scale prototyping techniques from previous years, while bringing together a range of experts from internationally acclaimed academic institutions and practices, Architectural Association, Zaha Hadid Architects, among others.

AA Istanbul Visiting School will investigate the inherent associations between form, material, and structure through the rigorous implementation of innovative design and fabrication techniques. Computational methods for design, analysis, and fabrication will be coupled with physical experimentation, fostering ‘learning-by-experimentation’ in an active collaborative studio environment. Throughout the design and fabrication processes, ...

JR's "Wrinkles Of The City", portraying the faces affected by gentrification and rapid urbanization, hits Istanbul

2017-05-04T23:42:00-04:00

If I was a poet, I would speak of Istanbul If I were a musician, my music would belong to Istanbul If I was a painter, I would paint Istanbul -Mihail

Prolific French artist JR continues to produce impactful work, following up his latest public exhibition with a special installation of his “Wrinkles of the City” series. First launched in 2008, the series is meant to visually portray the faces affected by gentrification and rapid urbanization in the world’s largest cities. Accordingly, JR spent the past two weeks in the alleyways and rooftops of Istanbul, forcing residents to confront the elderly’s personal stories through singular images.

Apply now for the AA Istanbul Visiting School: Robotic Mediations workshop

2017-04-11T04:00:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by AA Istanbul Visiting School.

Robotic Mediations
Wednesday 28 June – Friday 7 July 2017

AA Istanbul Visiting School, in collaboration with Istanbul Bilgi University, is a unique learning and making experience. The programme continues to build on its expertise on generative design methodologies and large-scale prototyping techniques from previous years, while bringing together a range of experts from internationally acclaimed academic institutions and practices, Architectural Association, Zaha Hadid Architects, among others.

Dror's plan for Istanbul's Parkorman offers the city a love story with nature

2017-03-21T18:38:00-04:00

The lack of public greenery is a concern troubling many urban areas around the world. For city-dwellers living in increasingly dense neighborhoods, nature often becomes synonymous with a singular tree or two as existing green spaces are few and far between. Istanbul, as the heart of Turkey, is one of the most congested cities in the world and has been struggling with the loss of public greenery due to privatization and population growth. Back in 2013, a riot over Gezi Park broke out as citizens desired to protect one of the cities last remaining green spaces from development.

Dror, the NY-based design practice, has plans to address this dearth with their new master plan for Istanbul’s Parkorman. Located six miles north of the city center, Dror plans to counter the industrialized city-scape by “designing a love story between people and nature in a city with no Central Park.”

From the architects: We set out to create a park that dissolves the anxiety and fear that often accompanies an...

‘Meowtropolis’: In ‘Kedi,’ A City of Cats Reveals Secrets of Urban Development

2017-02-28T17:32:00-05:00

Everyone in the neighborhood has a favorite cat—they give them names, personalities, entire narratives.

The story follows the saga of seven stray street cats in the city of Istanbul: Siri (the Hustler), Psikopat (the Psycho), Bengü (the Lover), and so on. Following these feline urbanites, who occupy a liminal space—not “in the wild” but certainly not tamed—we re-discover the essential qualities of grace, tenacity, perception, friendship, and independence that define the soul of the cat—and, it turns out, nurture the soul of a city and its residents as well.

Design is the center of the universe at the 3rd Istanbul Design Biennial, "Are We Human?"

2016-10-26T14:40:00-04:00

The 3rd Istanbul Design Biennial opened to the public this past Saturday, October 22, curated by Beatriz Colomina and Mark Wigley. The curators' full title, “Biz Inan Miyiz? / Are We Human? The Design Of The Species: 2 Seconds, 2 Days, 2 Years, 200 Years, 200,000 Years,” sets up an ambitious meeting of manifesto and provocation, delving into how the human race has designed our world and how design has impacted it in return. I attended the Biennial's opening as part of the student coalition from GSAPP and Princeton that helped with the curators' research.

At the press opening, Wigley ruminated on the meaning of a biennial itself; “Maybe that’s what a biennale is, it’s just a social gathering, for people to share ideas... in a city in which ideas have been shared maybe more than any other city I know.”

Wigley explained the importance of studying humanity's relationship to design: “We literally live inside design, like the spider lives inside the web constructed from its own body.” Colom...

The Wish Machine by Autoban, part of the London Design Biennale, invites visitors to walk through a tunnel made of transparent hexagonal tubes

2016-08-18T11:38:00-04:00

This September the first ever London Design Biennale will take place at Somerset House with featured projects from over thirty countries. The inaugural show is themed 'Utopia by Design' and celebrates the 500th anniversary of the publication of Sir Thomas More's classic, Utopia (1516).

Turkey's contribution to the biennale is 'The Wish Machine' designed by Istanbul-based multidisciplinary design studio, Autoban. The installation is inspired by the cultural tradition of threading a note or memento to the branch of a tree as an act of hope born out of hopelessness.

' The installation located in West Wing G1A at Somerset House appears as an interactive pneumatic system operating in a mirrored space. Visitors will be invited to walk through a tunnel that is made of transparent hexagonal tubes. They will share their hopes and wishes, vision of utopias, and aspiration for the future, by writing them on paper, and feeding them to the Wish Machine through a lid at the dead end. Notes will the...

Enclosed Paradise: Istanbul’s Microcities as Megaprojects

2016-06-06T17:41:00-04:00

The Turkish word for Gated Community is site, from the French cité, and they generally resemble the French highrises of the same name, rather than American tract housing. Towers and slabs stand shoulder to shoulder, dancing in a circle around the gardens they surround.

How to Make an Enclosed Paradise:

Raze a blighted industrial site or neighborhood close to the city center, preferably along a new highway or metro line.
Build an access road around the perimeter. Like a castle moat, this isolates your project from context and gives distance for height setbacks.
Fill the offset parcel with a base. This plinth elevates the garden while providing parking underneath.
Arrange towers and blocks along the borders of the site, maximizing the area of the captured central garden.
Stand out from your neighbors with shiny materials.
Market the project with a name that sounds like a car, i.e. ‘Innovia’, or ‘Quasar’.

Istanbul’s farmers fight to keep historic urban agriculture

2016-02-09T00:48:00-05:00

If we can protect the old city walls for architectural and historical reasons, then the gardens that have existed ever since the walls were built also deserve to be protected. They are a unique, intangible heritage.

"While urban farming gains in popularity in many capitals around the world, Istanbul is struggling to keep its centuries-old farming plots due to the drive for modernisation. Dozens of farmers face being kicked off the land they have cultivated for generations."

Architects compete for new Istanbul airport tower

2015-12-11T11:50:00-05:00

We particularly asked contestants to get inspired from icons of Turkey. Currently we are evaluating the submitted projects and will be announcing the results as soon as possible. - The Client

ZHA’s design was based on whirling dervishes, RMJMs on seagulls and Safdie Architects’ on Ottoman geometric patterns.Massimiliano Fuksas based its design on minarets while Grimshaw-Nordic drew inspiration from its nearby terminal buildings and Pininfarina-Aecom was influenced by tulips.

So, everyone knows how to listen and please the client and serve meaning.

"Are we human?" Curators Beatriz Colomina and Mark Wigley announce concept for 2016 Istanbul Design Biennial

2015-12-01T15:05:00-05:00

We live in a time when everything is designed, from our carefully crafted individual looks and online identities, to the surrounding galaxies of personal devices, new materials, interfaces, networks, systems, infrastructures, data, chemicals, organisms, and genetic codes... Even the planet itself has been completely encrusted by design as a geological layer. There is no longer an outside to the world of design. Design has become the world.

Beatriz Colomina and Mark Wigley, the curators of the 3rd Istanbul Design Biennial, announced the conceptual framework for next year's biennial in a press release held today in a library of the Istanbul Archaeological Museums.

Its overlong title, ARE WE HUMAN?: The Design of the Species: 2 seconds, 2 years, 200 years, 200,000 years, indicates primary conceptual concerns: the omnipresence of design, or the world as a designed object; the category of the human, alongside and contra that of the animal; and an expanded temporal focus that "spans from the last 2 seconds to the last 200,000 years."

"Design always presents itself as serving the human but its real ambition is to redesign the human," the curators state in the press release. "The history of design is therefore a history of evolving conceptions of the human. To talk about design is to talk about the state of our species."

Rather than celebrate particular designers or imagine speculative futures, the biennial will be an "archaeolo...

Istanbul's storied relationship to shopping malls

2015-11-09T18:51:00-05:00

With their sustainable growth slowing down, things didn't look good at all for the future of Turkey's malls. [...] With interest in city conservation growing, a popular opposition against gentrification projects rising, and a newborn curiosity for the country's Ottoman-era buildings being threatened by construction companies, talking positively about shopping malls came to be considered sacrilegious from 2013 on.

Istanbul’s introverted megaspaces

2015-06-18T23:42:00-04:00

A new typology of XL-architecture is emerging in Istanbul, negating the urban context. These ‘Citadels-on-Steroids’ rapidly encroach on the city’s urban fabric. [...] This might very well be the future of all cities. As city walls and state boundaries erode under late capitalism, the walls are only rebuilt at a smaller scale to maintain immunity from the chaos outside.

Beatriz Colomina and Mark Wigley will curate 3rd Istanbul Design Biennial

2015-05-27T13:23:00-04:00

In a press release issued today, the Istanbul Design Biennial announced that powerhouse architectural historians, theorists and educators Beatriz Colomina and Mark Wigley will curate the 3rd Biennial, taking place in 2016. Both are based in New York City (and happen to be married) – Colomina teaches and is a curator at Princeton University, and Wigley recently stepped down from his deanship at Columbia University's GSAPP.

The Biennial's agenda is to bring together a diversity of ideas and people within the design community to an international forum, and consider global issues from a design-minded perspective. Colomina and Wigley will announce the Biennial's "conceptual framework" in December 2015.

Their selection also continues the Biennial's trend of selecting international architecture figures for its curators – 2012's Biennial was headed by architects and researchers Emre Arolat (Istanbul) and Joseph Grima (Genoa), and 2014's was led by curator and writer Zoë Ryan (Chicago-based). ...

Is Istanbul heading for renewed protests over Gezi Park?

2015-01-14T14:19:00-05:00

Now the barracks plan has been revived. [...] Will one of central Istanbul’s few remaining green spaces become a symbol of consumerist might and the weakness of people power? Activists have pledged to take to the streets should the plan go forward. “If this project really comes to pass despite the high level of objection from the public, that will create a second wave of uprisings, and this time it will be more influential,” said Eyup Muhcu, the head of Turkey’s main architects’ union.

Previously

Book: The Architect’s Apprentice by Elif Şafak

2014-12-12T15:04:00-05:00

Sinan’s life was extraordinary, spanning the rule of three sultans, responsible for hundreds of buildings and for shaping the face of Istanbul even to this day, and he was considered on a par with Michelangelo in the West.

In Elif Şafak's (pronounced Shafak)new novel The Architect’s Apprentice the city is the real star, the teeming bustle of the streets, the whorehouses and palaces, the markets and mosques, the dungeons and bridges. And as the narrative progresses, the work of Sinan, Jahan, and Chota the elephant begins to take on greater meaning, the constant construction and destruction, the endless reinvention and renewal, acting as powerful metaphors. At one point Jahan realises that the secret of his master’s success lies not in toughness or indestructibility, “but in his ability to adapt to change and calamity, and to rebuild himself, again and again, out of the ruins”. It’s this kind of depth and breadth of scope that makes The Architect’s Apprentice an absorbing and moving piece of work.

“Serra Gate” salutes to Taksim Square protests in Istanbul, will tour city next year

2014-11-24T18:37:00-05:00

Nodding to the Taksim Square political protests in May 2013, the Serra Gate installation by Istanbul practice GAD Architecture artistically interprets and also invites passers-by to examine the influence of urban interventions in the public realm. Serra Gate, which was inspired by the large-scale sculptures of artist Richard Serra, highlights how protesters created makeshift living spaces inside the park and the streets...

Learn more about the project on Bustler.

MoMA's “Uneven Growth” case studies conclude with exhibition this month

2014-11-13T13:03:00-05:00

MoMA began its "Uneven Growth: Tactical Urbanisms for Expanding Megacities" initiative last year aiming to advance international discussion on disproportionate urban development and its potential consequences. To address this issue, six interdisciplinary teams spent 14 months in workshops designing proposals that investigate new architectural possibilities for six metropolises. Each case study will be exhibited to the public at MoMA starting on November 22.

But the discussion doesn't end there. MoMA also created a user-generated Tumblr that collects examples of emerging modes of tactical urbanism taking place in the six cities.

Here's a glimpse:

LAGOS
By NLÉ (Lagos, Nigeria and Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Zoohaus/Inteligencias Colectivas (Madrid, Spain)

HONG KONG
By MAP Office (Hong Kong, China)
Network Architecture Lab (Columbia University, New York, U.S.)

ISTANBUL
By Superpool (Istanbul, Turkey)
Atelier d’Architecture Autogérée (Paris, France)

MUMBAI
By URBZ: user-generated cities (Mumbai, India)
Ensamble Studio/MIT-POPlab (Madrid, Spain and Cambridge, U.S.)

RIO DE JANEIRO
By RUA Arquitetos (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
MAS Urban Design at ETH (Zurich, Switzerland)

NEW YORK
By SITU Studio (New York, U.S.)
Cohabitation Strategies (CohStra) (Rotterdam, Netherlands AND New York, U.S.)

For further details and images from each case study, head over to Bustler.