Turkey based Aboutblank Architects have been awarded an honorable mention for their housing project for the Istanbul Kayabasi Housing Design Competition. The young firm focuses on urban design approaches, while working on a multidisciplinary level.
More about the housing project after the break.
Aboutblank Architects utilized the principles of folding to create an urban pattern. The horizontal rows of buildings were conceived as strips of paper that, when folded in strategic locations, created a series of connected buildings varying in height. Since the folding defines the heights of the buildings, the lower buildings allow sunlight to reach the garden spaces that are interwoven between the housing components. These green areas form a shared atmosphere users can enjoy together while the fold at the ground level “connects the ground with different heights and carries the green to vertical counterparts.”
Architects: Aboutblank
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Design Team: Hasan S. Gumussoy, Erhan Vural, Gokhan Kodalak, Cigdem Karamursel, Ozlem Butun
Client: Republic of Turkey Prime Ministry, housing development administration of Turkey
Site Area: 225.000 sqm
Constructed Area: 300.000 sqm
Prize: Honorable Mention (equivalent)
well, it looks like one of those 70s projects that were just torn down some years ago. Putting running and activ people in the renderings will not really make it an attractive project when it’s build, i’m afraid.
this is the 1st project published here designed by Turkish architects! i can’t believe my eyes!
thank you for designing such a project like that! congrats guys!
uhh. thats sad. dont remake our mistakes.
Not only that the project itself is nothing exceptional, but why talking about honorable mentions ?
Sure there will be plenty of news if every architecture website starts to report about all the entries of every competition, but i’m wondering why this one and why this project only, what about the winner ?
do you only want to see the winner project always at architectural competitions? do you really trust the jury’s decision for all competitions and treat the projects with their prizes? don’t you want to see more ideas and projects about that problem? you said “Sure there will be plenty of news if every architecture website starts to report about all the entries of every competition”..isn’t it a satisfying situation for architecture?? seeing more graphics,more and more projects, diagrams, ideas, drawings, graphics etc. don’t you want to have your own ideas about a project competititon.?
Don’t get me wrong. It is not about trusting a jury, its about reporting the whole story, you can show honorable mentions with a questionable masterplan such as this one, but why not also first prize? Anyway this was corrected already. Thanks to the team.
To answer the second part, quality first, not quantity! We all prefer that for architecture, so why not for architecture blogs and e-zines too?
This competition released 8 top winners and 8 honorable winners out of more than 250 entries. The requirements were pretty tough and congratulations to the above project team! It was very challenging I have to say.
There was only 82 entry for this competition.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE dont build this… thing! i live in Saint Louis MO and the kind of projects are what destroy american cities the most! the look great for 8 years then they go to hell!