Gürsel Neighborhood Urban Renewal
2023, Kağıthane, Istanbul, Turkey
The project selected through a closed competition not only provides a pedestrian-focused touch to Istanbul’s most problematic urban fabric, but also opens up space for the efficient use of resources necessary for urban transformation for both users and the city.
The project area consists of four building blocks in Gürsel Mahallesi, Kağıthane District. One of these building blocks, adjacent to Çağlayan Square, has been designated as a public square in the plan notes.
The development rights for this building block have been transferred to the other two building blocks. This decision has made the already quite congested and crowded building areas even more dense. The skillful distribution of building density has been addressed as the main issue. Another problem is that the transport networks in the design area are quite dense and complex.
Çağlayan Courthouse, the D100 Highway and Kağıthane Street surround the area from three different directions. The intersection of motor vehicle traffic, the lack of sufficient roundabouts, and inadequate signaling negatively affect transport mobility. Furthermore, the fact that building users currently meet their parking needs by parking on the roadside significantly worsens traffic. It has also been observed that the areas designated for pedestrian circulation are limited and inadequate. The addition of new buildings to an area already experiencing significant transport problems will exacerbate these issues due to the increased density. Therefore, resolving transport issues has been addressed as another important problem.
Vehicle roads passing between the building islands were converted into pedestrianised areas, while traffic on the remaining road was slowed down. This ensured uninterrupted pedestrian access throughout the entire area. All car park entrances and exits were reorganised via the newly arranged underpass, thereby eliminating the chaos caused by vehicle traffic.
The building blocks were graded so that buildings could be accessed from both upper and lower ground levels. This decision ensured continuous pedestrian circulation both inside and outside the buildings. Thus, the underutilized Çağlayan Square was connected to the designed Gürsel Square, and Gürsel Square was connected to the lower square via the walkable commercial strip, ensuring unimpeded pedestrian flow throughout the entire area.
Designed to be in harmony with the surrounding planning conditions, the upper floors of the buildings are set back to establish a relationship with the urban context. The plan was formed with 8×8 m modules with an area of 64 square metres. The unit areas are formed by combining unit modules, and this modulation has enabled flexible use of space, speeding up the construction process and making it more economical. Spatial diversity has been achieved by combination of modules.
The ground and upper floors of the buildings are designated as shops, the floors on the plinth as han offices, and the floors rising above the plinth as offices and residences.
Gürsel Neighborhood Urban Renewal
2023, Kağıthane, Istanbul, Turkey
Housing, Completed, 135.000 m²
Client
BİMTAŞ
Team
Fadime Kul, Çetin Ayık, Sinan Şerifoğlu, Regaip Adem