Turkey: The Latest Architecture and News

As the month-long 3rd Istanbul Design Biennial draws near, the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) have revealed a full list of projects and participants. Curated by Beatriz Colomina and Mark Wigley, the biennial—which is titled Are We Human? The Design of the Species: 2 seconds, 2 days, 2 years, 200 years, 200,000 years—will revolve around one pressing provocation: that design itself needs to be redesigned.

Presenting more than 70 projects from five continents by designers, architects, artists, theorists, choreographers, filmmakers, historians, archaeologists, scientists, laboratories, institutes and NGOs, the exhibitions will be spatialized by Andrés Jaque and the Office for Political Innovation and spread across five main venues – the Galata Greek Primary School, Studio-X Istanbul and Depo in Karaköy, Alt Art Space in Bomonti, and the Istanbul Archaeological Museums in Sultanahmet. The work of a dense array of international writers, video makers, and designer researchers will also be presented online.

The 3rd Istanbul Design Biennial, which will officially open on the 22nd October 2016 and last for four weeks, will ask the question: Are We Human? Encompassing a wide range of ideas related to The Design of the Species, from timeframes of 2 Seconds to 2 Days, 2 Years, 200 Years and 200,000 Years, the international show will revolve around one pressing provocation: that design itself needs to be redesigned. It will do so by exploring the intimate relationship between the concepts of "design" and "humanity."

Five primary venues—the Galata Greek Primary School, Studio-X Istanbul and Depo in Karaköy, Alt in Bomonti, and the Istanbul Archaeological Museums in Sultanahmet—will house more than 70 projects by designers, architects, artists, historians, archaeologists and scientists from thirteen countries. In order to "rethink design from the very beginning of humanity," the Biennial will be organised into four overlapping “clouds” of projects: Designing the Body, Designing the Planet, Designing Life, and Designing Time.

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Forum Studio has released plans for “The Pearl of Istanbul”, a mixed-use development situated along a natural bluff overlooking the Marmara Sea that will provide residential, cultural and retail venues for the city of Istanbul. The project’s centerpiece will be the new marina, a string of man-made islands for boat parking that will function as an alternative to a seawall, protecting the development from harsh weather.

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Architecture and planning firm Sabri Pasayigit Design Office has released its new master plan for the Municipality of Kayseri in the Sahabiye neighborhood of Kayseri, Turkey.

The project balances historic and modern architecture elements, with a focus on the historic castle of Kayseri as the city center point. Cultural and public buildings will be placed near this historic center, with taller buildings set farther out of the city.

The Pavilion of Turkey at the 2016 Venice Biennale will feature an exhibition titled Darzanà: Two Arsenals, One Vessel, which links the cultural heritage between the language and architecture of dockyards in Istanbul and Venice. Curated by a team of Turkish architects, the display will present “a last vessel," that has been built using waste materials found at the Haliç dockyards in Istanbul, and transported to the Biennale.

Melike Altınışık Architects has won first mention in a competition to design the Kızılırmak Bridge located in Sivas, Turkey. The competition, which was hosted by Sivas Municipality, called for ideas to design a bridge to support pedestrian movement, vehicular transportation, and cycling activities. The proposal aimed to create an “avant-garde looking design approach to obtain coherency between plan and sections, and harmonize the bridge with its topography.”

PARKOPERA, a cultural facility designed by Alper Derinboğaz, Salon, is a center of attraction that will be situated between apartment buildings and within a neighborhood park in Antalya, Turkey. Through the development of both the building and the outdoor space around it, the center creates multiple opportunities for the community to come together and enjoy various cultural events.

1+1 Architects has been awarded first prize for its design for A New Landmark for Antalya, in a competition held by the Municipality of Kepez, a major tourism city on the coast of Turkey in the Mediterranean.

The competition called for a proposal of a landmark to introduce the metropolitan area of Antalya to the world, while providing a public cultural and activity center for day-to-day life. In response, 1+1 Architects’ project marries the notion of a prominent landmark, and the idea of adapting to the natural landscape.

iGA has selected AECOM and Pininfarina over Zaha Hadid, Moshe Safdie and 3 others to design the Air Traffic Control Tower for Istanbul New Airport - soon to be the world's largest new airport. The project will mark AECOM's first collaboration with Pininfarina, an Italian car design firm renowned for designing the Ferrari and Alfa Romeo.

“One of the World’s largest aviation projects, Istanbul New Airport’s air traffic control tower will be an iconic structure, visible to all passengers traveling through the airport. We were looking for a striking design fit for a 21st century airport while remaining sensitive to Istanbul’s unique heritage. We received excellent designs from all over the world and are delighted to announce the AECOM and Pininfarina team as the competition winner,” said Yusuf Akçayoğlu, chief executive officer of İGA.

Following an open-call and two-stage evaluation, Mehmet Kütükçüoğlu, Ertuğ Uçar, and Feride Çiçekoğlu with the support of Namık Erkal and Cemal Emden, have been selected as co-curators of the Turkish Pavilion at the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale, directed by Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena under the theme 'Reporting from the Front'. Commissioned by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV), the project's title—'Darzanà'—reflects the great "twin harbours of the Mediterranean:" Istanbul and Venice.

Istanbul-based architecture studio Salon, in collaboration with Praxis Landscape, has unveiled the designs for its Beylikdüzü Life Valley Bridges and Routes Master Plan for Istanbul's Beylikdüzü district. Guided by the idea of “Keeping the Valley Alive," the project has created a new design for the area to thrive, maintaining the valley “livable, accessible, sustainable, feasible, and alive.”

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Antalya Mayor Menderes Turel have announced their support for Perkins+Will’s sustainable master plan for Antalya, Turkey. The master plan will revitalize and preserve the Bogacay Creek Basin area of Antalya, improving its quality as a major tourist city along the Turkish Riviera.

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OMA and Buro Ole Scheeren's vertical village in Singapore, The Interlace has been named the World Building of the Year 2015 at culmination of the World Architecture Festival (WAF). Celebrated for being "an example of bold, contemporary architectural thinking," as WAF Director Paul Finch described, the project is eighth building to ever win the illustrious award. It is considered to be a "radical new approach to contemporary living in a tropical environment."

Winners of the year's Future Project, Landscape, Small Project and Color Prize awards were also announced. Read on to see the who won with comments from the jury.

Perkins+Will has been selected to masterplan a major mixed-use development adjacent to undergoing Istanbul New Airport - soon to be one of the largest airports in the world. The 690-hectare scheme, "Airport City" will feature a "central innovation district," hotels, retail and commercial office space, logistic centers, an expo and convention center, public space, and metro and high-speed rail connections to Istanbul and beyond.

The Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV) is hosting an open call for proposals for the Pavilion of Turkey's exhibition at the 2016 Venice Biennale. The call is open to all people and institutions of relevant fields, including architects, designers, artists, historians, curators, theoreticians and critics.