Imagine combining the movable gangway employed for airplane passengers with the slender above-ground urban footprint of a subway station, and you have the basic concepts behind Gensler and Dror's proposed underground cruise operation in their masterplan for the Galataport in Istanbul. Using a hydraulic boardwalk that deploys a rising gangway when and only when a ship docks, the system only takes up 3.5 meters of boardwalk.

The architects wanted to free up the now mainly inaccessible-to-the-public 1.2 kilometer Bosphorus abutting boardwalk while still servicing cruise ships, so they invented this underground system in combination with interdisciplinary firm BEA.

As Dror Benshetrit, principal of Dror explains, “Through the collaboration of our partners, we’ve been able to relocate the cruise terminal in an unprecedented way and design a plan that respects the cultural texture of Istanbul. It is our hope that the revitalized neighborhood will reconnect local residents and visitors with nature, enrich their social life, and ultimately, improve their well-being.”