FENER AYVANSARAY URBAN TRANSFORMATION PROJECT
Fatih/İstanbul︎ 2013 ︎Construction Area: 3.000 m2 ︎ Site: 28.000 m2 ︎ Urban Design
︎ H. Deniz Özdemir, Hakan Tung, Metehan Kahya, Nevzat Sayın, Sibel Özdoğan








Located along the shores of the Golden Horn –one of the most characteristic areas of Istanbul– and largely owned by local governments, the most critical thing for this settlement repeating the current fabric was to add new buildings rather than demolishing and rebuilding. Local governments and investors had been trying hard to convince proprietors to join in the program. We began by convincing these two parties to give up on this quest. We explained that some of the old buildings that would remain in between or singular initiatives would also contribute positively towards the entirety of the project. We agreed that the ground floors would be used as spaces for the small retailers to do business, as it was done before. By using some parts of the commercial areas as passages –similar examples of which were seen in the area– and by connecting gardens, streets, and passages without a security wall, we created a transparent and real urban area. We tried to separate private space, collective private space, and public space without unnecessary effort. In terms of mass, height, size, and language, we followed the current fabric that still holds traces of a glowing past.