The master plan for a new rebuilding project in Turkey’s southeastern Hatay province has been revealed by Foster + Partners in association with the Türkiye Design Council (TDC) in response to the devastating 7.8 magnitude Turkey-Syria Earthquake which displaced thousands and destroyed a majority of structures in the region in early February.

The plan draws in BIG and twelve other local and international practices into a consortium that will together design a revitalization of the city of Antakya with sensitivity to preserving the “cultural heritage and identity” of the 2,300-year-old provincial capital known to antiquity as Antioch.

"Hatay has been destroyed by a major earthquake at least seven times in history — some experts suggest as many as 33. In February, 80% of the city was devastated, putting Hatay in a unique position. Its archaeological and religious mosaic features require special urban planning, which needs to be combined with the creation of self-sufficient, resilient structures," Bünyamin Derman, the Founding Partner of DB Architecture, a Turkish practice that is also participating in the master plan, describes speaking to the scope and difficulty of the effort.

Plans will be developed to reflect the ancient cities of Seleukeia Pieria and Antiokheia, drawing on its perception as a bastion of religious tolerance and the local geography of the Asi River region while restoring important heritage structures such as the Uzun Bazaar. The full master plan will be revealed in early 2024. The plan is being executed with help from the Turkish Ministry of Environment, Urban Planning and Climate Change and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

This is the first mass-scale involvement from an international firm that has been announced in response to the earthquake, which heavily afflicted neighboring Syria as well. Foster + Partners also announced last spring that they are leading a master plan for a partial rebuilding of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv post-conflict.

Also of note is the absence of several key Turkish planners and building experts from the project, as several leading professionals (some with ties to the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects and Chamber of Urban Planners) were arrested in the spring over their comments regarding President Recep Erdoğan’s role in lowering building standards for years preceding the disaster.

"Following the earthquake, we experienced the biggest-ever global cooperation for the relief effort. Now, we want this to be the biggest-ever global collaboration of experts to shape the next era of Hatay. This province, and its center Antakya, are places of great significance to humanity, both culturally and historically. It is a centuries-old place, and we have an enormous responsibility to its people and to honor its rich past while ensuring its vitality as a modern city continues for generations to come," Mehmet Kalyoncu, Chairman of the Türkiye Design Council, said of his vision.

"Through our partnership, we embarked on a journey to transform Hatay into a beacon of hope. In this journey, I can say that our national and international collaborations will teach both our country and the world to work and live together, addressing one of the most significant urban problems of our time — disconnected public spaces. First, we will revive the city of hope, Hatay, and then it will, in turn, revive our hopes," Derman added finally.

Foster + Partners are also pursuing a district plan project in nearby Cyprus and have previously completed commercial and residential designs in Istanbul and the coast community of Muğla.

A timeline for construction could not be obtained at the moment. More firms included in the consortium are expected to be announced later as the plan unfolds.