Zeytinburnu Sumer Mahalle

ISTANBUL, TURKEY, 2012

The Sorkin Studio has a long relationship to Istanbul and Turkey and this recent project is a proposal for the redevelopment of neighborhood on the city's west side, near the Sea of Marmara. Istanbul is in an active seismic zone and this scheme is one of a series of projects commissioned by a local planning agency to investigate the rehabilitation of several prototypical urban districts. This, it is hoped, will provide strategies for more widespread renovation of areas at risk from earthquakes. Our proposal selectively replaces buildings of poor structural quality, creates a series of new public spaces to serve as social and commercial areas and as evacuation zones, and features a series of traditional Turkish gardens – "bustans" – to provide gardening and recreational opportunities to community residents and to form a green armature to link this neighborhood to a city-wide network of green spaces.

Credits: J. Gu, M. Inmaculada Bueno Rosas, M. Sorkin.