5th International Conference on Competitions 2014 Delft A Critical Overview of Architectural Competitons in Turkey Two Contradicted Competition Stories in Istanbul: IMC Blocks / Zorlu Center Projects Devrim Isikkaya 308 5th International Conference on Competitions 2014 Delft A CRITICAL OVERVIEW of Architectural Competitons in Turkey: TWO CONTRADICTED COMPETITION STORIES IN ISTANBUL: IMC BLOCKS / ZORLU CENTER PROJECTS Assist. Prof. Devrim ISIKKAYA Faculty of Architecture and Design Bahcesehir University Istanbul e-mail: [email protected], [email protected] Short Introduction of the Topic of Research: Upon the demand of Linen Drapers and Cloth Merchants Market Cooperative, in 1954-55 an area between Bozdogan Archway and Unkapani Bridge along the edge of the historical peninsula Istanbul. Again, upon the demand of the cooperative, the “Site Construction Plan” competition was opened in 1958 for this area and Cihat Findikoglu and his team won the competition. Later on, in 1959, an invitee architecture design competition which covered about 160.000sqm was organized on the area. This competition was won by SITE Architecture Group. The project was constructed in 1961-1967, by remaining true to a majority of its characteristics and was opened with a ceremony by the Prime Minister of the time. The Research Methods: Evaluation of the documents regarding the both competition process, site analysis, interviews with the clients, designer groups and the consumer and the owner of the erected buildings, critical overview and competitive analysis of the both projects Preliminary Results: Contradictory characteristics of the both multi-leg competition mix-used projects regarding the jury, client, designer, urban and architectural design approaches The Specific Theme (of the Conference): - What is a competition? A critical debate on their roles, their contribution to the quality of our built environment and their characteristics across countries and regulations. - What is the role of the dialogue between client and architects? - What’s the relation between competition form and innovations? Addressing the role of the client, jury and design teams in competitions in relation to the outcomes. - How do clients manage the competitions process? Focusing on aims, stakeholder strategies and jury deliberations of commisioning client organizations. 309 5th International Conference on Competitions 2014 Delft ABSTRACT: This paper’s aim is to make a comparative analysis of the two contradicted multi-leg mix- used projects and their architectural and urban design process / the competition process; the communist, nationalist, designer-related, revolutionary, innovative, transparent, extroverted, humble, urban related IMC Blocks include the Linen and Drapers Offices, shops, food court etc., located on the historical peninsula – old Istanbul, completed at the end of 60s and the capitalist, neo-liberalist and internationalist, repetitive, introverted, profiteer, client-related, arrogant, urban rejected, city in city formed Zorlu Center project which includes convention zones, shopping malls, offices and entertainment zones, established between the years 2011 – 2013, in terms of the competition process, actors and products, jury / designer, client / designer, the architectural product / city, designer / contractor relations, in order to evaluate and understand the last fifty years of the Turkish architectural competition culture. Keywords: multi-leg architectural competition, mix-used project, mat architecture, designer – related / client related, competition culture and politics in Turkey 1. IMC BLOCKS – Urban and Architectural Competition During the first half of 20th century, Istanbul’s linen drapers market expanded to the city’s Sultanhamam district and its surroundings in the historic peninsula and settled into the 19th century buildings in the area. In the beginning of 1950’s, the city was almost reconstructed and in this respect, especially Sultanhamam and its surroundings, which have gone under great changes in terms of urban morphology in the historical peninsula and lacked the aspects to be sufficient for dense commercial activity. When the notification of the mentioned area to vehicle traffic was sent to the linen drapers, The Merchants of Linen Drapers and Cloth founded “Limited Responsibility Istanbul Linen Drapers and Cloth merchants Shopping Center Building Society” with more than 1100 members in 1954, in order to get themselves an area and a brand new shopping center and to create its own linen drapers- cloth market (Kizilkayak, 2001). The governor and the mayor on behalf of Istanbul Municipality proposed an area along the edge of the historical peninsula between historic Bozdogan Archway and Unkapani next to the Ataturk Boulevard to the consideration of the cooperative so that the project and the construction of the shopping center would greatly shape the construction of the immediate vicinity as well. An uncertainty about the land confiscation boundaries came into the picture due to the area not having a construction plan and a lack of urban construction program related to the area. Therefore, the municipality urged the cooperative to organize a “site construction plan” competition to be able to realize the required urban arrangements to be done. The jury deemed master architect Cihat Findikoglu and his design team’s project the first prize in the year 1958 out of fourteen projects (Ozcan, 1968). Within the same year, the cooperative organized an invitee and national level architecture project design competition, which would be the continuation of the site construction plan competition, with the support and guidance of the municipality once again, for the shopping center campus in the designated land. 310 5th International Conference on Competitions 2014 Delft In accordance with the architecture project requirements the participants were asked to design the following: 1117 shops in four different styles, whose value differs according to their size ranging from 80-90sqm (Ozcan, 1968); if possible, storages connected to each shop and other public storages in different places of the shopping center; offices of the levels above the shops in the blocks and taking environmental conditions into consideration, multi-storied offices buildings at certain places, restaurants and buffets; a barber shop, a pharmacy; police center; a post office; large parking spaces, underground parking spaces; appropriate places for tobacco shops. Around the invited eleven teams and individuals the jury deemed the project of SITE Architecture, office members, master engineers and architects Dogan Tekeli, Sami Sisa and Metin Hepguler for the first prize and to be realized (Tekeli, 2001). The jury report on the winning project out of eleven proposals as a result of the organized architecture project competition is as follows: “In the project chosen as the most suitable project among the others for the Linen Drapers, these are the main aspects: 7KH FRPSRVLWLRQ RI WKH DUHD EHWZHHQ %R]GR÷DQ $UFKZD\ DQG Sebsefa Hatun Mosque has been found to be positive in terms of urbanization and architecture. On the other hand, altough the number of shops is complete in this project, their width has been found narrow (gross 4.40m). However, the lack of flexibility, in the project can be removed. The ventilation of the orientation to the land and the restricted area buried to the ground by openingducts to the yards and back service road has been nicely accomplished. The jury refused the high building blocks of the project on the site.” Thus, the construction of the shopping center which covered a total of about 160.000sqm area and consisting of six different blocks has been completed between 1961-1967 (Ozcan, 1969). The linen drapers shopping center which is Turkey’s first big modern “shopping mall” within its two open courts with closed grounds has been completed in six years, in an environment of inconvenience caused by the construction industry with very limited materials, technology and workmanship, by mostly remaining true to the preliminary project and was opened to service in 1967. The last stage of Istanbul Linen Drapers Shopping Center competition and construction process has resulted in other competition subject to arise. The proposal of SITE Architecture Office to the shopping center’s administrative committee about placing examples of Turkish modern plastic arts by IMC (Shopping Center) structure group was approved. As a result of the plastic arts project competitions which were organized twice, Kuzgun Acar’s wall statue, Ruya Koral’s ceramic board, Yavuz Gorey’s fountains/statue, Ali Teoman Germaner’s wall relief, Sadi diren’s ceramic board, Nedim Gunsur’s mosaic board were applied to the interior and exterior facades of the 1st, 2nd, 5th and 6th blocks (Ozcan, 1969). In Istanbul, where the exchange concept comes to the fore and Byzantium, Ottoman – Islam shopping centers become dense, the IMC Project which forms an analogical connection between spatial tradition of Ottoman bazaars, covered bazaars, caravansaray, inn and closed bazaar vulture, develops the shopping center typology / conceptbwith a modern interpretation and redefines it, is the reflection of solidarity – organization performance, which is a candidate to the Ataturk’s city and social ideology, to the city’s physical environment as well. 311 5th International Conference on Competitions 2014 Delft With the understanding of a new shopping center created by architects, the galleries and common