Year 3 final project:

This project started with a cup of coffee. Many of us drink coffee in the morning to wake up. However, have you ever thought of coffee is more than just a daily dose of caffeine? The moment we inhale the aroma of a cup of freshly ground coffee, several genes in our brain will be activated. Besides that, recent research has revealed that coffee waste could be an alternative energy source. Therefore, my proposed building is not only a self-sustained building, it also keeps its inhabitants awake.
The scheme proposes a coffeehouse, coffee waste collection centre, debating chamber as well as a continuity of public green space linking both sides of the Golden Horn, Istanbul. The building site is located on an island within the district of Eyup. Apart from being just a coffeehouse, my proposed building is a recycling platform which collects coffee waste from the surrounding cafés.  
Coffeehouse and coffee culture have been an integral part of Istanbul social culture for centuries; people came here throughout the day to read books and beautiful texts, play chess and backgammon and discuss poetry, politics and literature. However it has traditionally been seen as a realm for men in their various neighbourhoods to gather. In the 1980’s feminist protests were held in the male sphere of coffeehouses in Istanbul, in an attempt to break the male domination of the public square.
The program will attempt to attract a larger female clientèle than the traditional Istanbul coffeehouse, to enable the same socialisation and forum of political discussion, that men have enjoyed for centuries. Women would be encouraged to recycle, garden, drink coffee, exchange opinions and read on the site. There has been an increase over the years in the female literacy levels in Turkey, that is in line with the growing political voice that women in the country have been fighting for.