Galata Workshop 2011

Figure . Galata Tower seen from tower square

BEYKENT UNIVERSITY SUMMER WORKSHOP

THEME: GALATA TOWER AND ITS ENVIRONS

VENUE: July 4-10, İstanbul

TITLE: TRANSFORMING THE GALATA DISTRICT: A VISION FOR THE FUTURE

click on the schedule for larger view

Problem Site

The Galata Tower (Galata Kulesi in Turkish) was built as Christea Turris (the tower of Christ, in Latin) in 1348 during an expansion of the Genoese colony in Istanbul (Constantinople). It is a nine-story medieval stone tower, 66.90 meters tall, 62.59 m without the conical cap on top, 51.65 m at the observation deck, was the city's tallest structure when it was built. It is in the Galata district of Istanbul, Turkey, just to the north of the Golden Horn. It is one of the city's most striking landmarks that dominates the skyline and affords a panoramic vista of Old Istanbul and its environs.

The upper section of the Galata tower was slightly modified in several restorations during the Ottoman period when it was used as an observation tower for spotting fires. According to the Seyahatname of Ottoman historian and traveler Evliya Çelebi, in circa 1630-1632, Hezarfen Ahmet Çelebi flew as an early aviator using artificial wings for gliding from this tower over the Bosporus to the slopes of Üsküdar on the Anatolian side, nearly six kilometres away.[1]

Starting from 1717 the Ottomans began to use the tower for spotting fires in the city. In 1794, during the reign of Sultan Selim III, the roof of the tower made of lead and wood and the stairs were severely damaged by a fire. Another fire damaged the building in 1831, upon which a new restoration work took place. In 1875, during a storm, the conic roof on the top of the building was destroyed. The tower remained without this conic roof for the rest of the Ottoman period.

Many years later, in 1965-1967, during the Turkish Republic, the original conical cap was restored. During this final restoration in the 1960s, the wooden interior of the tower was replaced by a concrete structure and it was commercialized and opened to the public. This tower and its vicinity are determined as the theme of the June Workshop by Beykent University Department of Architecture for several important reasons.

Problems with Site

Galata district which took shape as a trade quarter was divided into neighborhoods demarcated by high walls, has been the eastern door of the west throughout the history. Galata coastal trade predicated upon ship construction and other industries was significantly different from Eminönü trade center which handled the alimentary and heating needs of the city. Eminönü and Galata axis with the Closed Bazaar, Hans Region, Coastal Hans, Springs, Piers and Wharfs represented the East and the Eastern connections, whereas Galata and its environs with industrial retail stores, banks and Western amenities, represented a crucial meeting point of East and West-a junction.

Galata has been an intense residential area of apartments to let from the very beginning and also a conjunction of cultures where Ottomans encountered the anonymous Modern man. Ottoman Empire received the first influences and efficacies of Modernity at Galata. While in the 1990s Galata was a district which specialized in the production of electrical utilities has now turned into a cultural center with its innate potentials which were mostly discovered by the research groups and academicians who studied the district. Consequently the district is now changing its crust and covering. Dilapidated houses are being upgraded, forsaken houses are being rented, prices are going up and it is reviving itself to simulate its past. The only con is that the poor who used to inhabit this place are at stake of homelessness!

As for the Eminönü region and especially in the Hans Region, a very rich variety of inns which used to be important elements of trade in Sassanid, Seljuk and Anatolian Seljuk States still remains: closed, open and court-type inns. Today these are mostly used for storing purposes and vary from one to three-stories. The Galata-Eminönü axis of Istanbul is aligned over a process starting with the most secular constructions such as piers, inns, retail stores, houses, but ends up with religious complexes that are at odds with the function of the starting point. This axis embodies contradictory but rich semantic constructs. The west end of the Golden Horn contains some inns which resemble those that are in Venice. For example, the Saint Pierre Inn is a massive building without court and full of chambers. It is located adjacent to the Genoese Trade Union. On the eastern side of the Golden Horn, there are several inns designed on the idea of court. Their presence is mostly due to the fact that Ottoman Empire had lost its dominance in the Mediterranean and therefore needed to build the node of trade elsewhere, close to the Capital. These trade buildings are attached to the Yağkapanı, Unkapanı, Yemişkapanı and other docks. Why these Ottoman built inns were with courts although caravans were not used anymore, is not clear to us. Nevertheless they interestingly point to the fact that the character of trade and personality of merchants are reflected in the architecture of inns as well. The unique Galata is at the intersection-conjunction of trade areas and has a synthesizing affect in the quarter.

Economic Issues

The region is being rapidly cleared off the ateliers. They are only operating in the lower part of the district and shops are hardly sustained due to heavy traffic. Shipyards being relocated at Tuzla speeds up this process.

Buildings

Buildings are dilapidated: roof, ceilings and floors are in bad shape, interior timberwork is old and rundown; humidity causes problem situations with respect to building physics. Repairs and refurbishments contradict with the original. Newly restored shops are at contrast with the old and shabby buildings. Incorrectly insulated roofs fail to avoid the harm caused by heavy rain. Proliferating roof restaurants and bars cause noise and light pollution.

Streets

Parking remains as a major problem. Streets cannot bear traffic any more; all the empty lots turn into parking areas. Although some measures have been taken by the municipality the situation is far from being solved. Parking need is not met in the present.

Access

The tunnel-the major transportation system of the district has turned into a tourist attraction. The new subway connection is far from serving the whole district. The facilities such as the schools and hospitals while rejuvenating the district aggravate the traffic issues.

Strong Points

Galata Tower and its immediate environment unite the two trade axes consisting of inns/shops/docks/harbor/banks/western style business buildings/avenues/streets/unique streets with stairs/plazas. If the inns,

Eminönü Square

, Golden Horn Bridge,

Karaköy Square

are put to good use the district bears high potential for positive transformation and recovery. The environment has also high tourist potentials for its architecture. Coastal potentials wait for development. Access via the sea provides rich possibilities. The cultural progress initiated by Istanbul Modern has set a good example and caused reverberations in the district and accelerated changes.

Weak points

Progress may deepen the gap between the different income groups.

The Question to be resolved during the WORKSHOP:

Preservation via Transformation

The challenging work expected of the workshop mainly consists of restoration and preservation ideas at urban level. The ideology, however, is to be the major debate. Should Galata Tower and its vicinity take on the role of a junction, conjunction or disjunction? The organizers expect creative modes of thought in these respects although some specific design issues are also to be brought to the fore, such as the design of;

1. Roof gardens,

2. Vertical gardens

3. Street gardens

4. Urban furniture

5. Recreation and leisure areas

6. Social spaces, i.e. stairs, ramps, courts, platforms, corners, etc.

7. Lighting fixtures and other amenities

8. Consolidatiın of dilapidated buildings and run-down stairs and shop fronts, etc.

WORKSHOP PROGRAM AND VENUE

Workshop will be housed in the Galata district where the joining students will also be accommodated. In this way students will also get a chance to observe and incorporate in ebru (marbling), ceramics, and paper arts ateliers at their spare time and will enjoy many live concerts, exhibitions, and dances at different settings at Galata. 686 years old Genoese Trade Center Building will host the daily lectures and studios. For some conferences, Metropolitan Municipality Building at Tepebaşı might be preferred.

A three-dimensional plotting of Galata (showing the original architectural designs and details of old buildings drawn up for restoration) is targeted to be achieved by major contributions from the Beykent University architecture students; and idea-concept designs for the district from all students. Several in-situ competitions are contrived for this purpose and students will be rewarded with certificates of contribution, honor and mention.

PARTICIPATION

YAZ ÇALIŞTAYI KATILIMCI ÖĞRENCİ VE ÖĞRETİM UYELERİ (27 Haziran 2011 itinariyle)

Öğretim Üyeleri:

Şengül Öymen Gür 

Kutsal Öztürk  

Claudio Lamanna  

Fikret Evci 

Nilgün Kuloğlu  

Ali Asasoğlu  

Asu Beşgen  

Serap Durmuş  

Şengül Yalçınkaya  

Paola Alfaro d'Alençon 

Birsen Coşkun Öztürk  

Gabi Eisenreich 

Marina Döring-Williams

A. Nilay Evcil 

Kenan Göçer 

Kağan Günce

Kamil Kaptan

Yılmaz Kuyumcu 

Alper Derinboğaz

M. Orkun Özüer 

Beykent Üniversitesi’nden Katılacak Öğrenciler Listesi

1.Mahmut İsa Şenel 

2.Umut Fişek end_of_the_skype_highlighting

3. K. Elif Karaoğlu 

4. Hasan Semih Çakmak

5.Merve Akgökend_of_the_skype_highlighting

6. Fatma Arusoğlu end_of_the_skype_highlighting

7. Yasemin Yılmaztürk end_of_the_skype_highlighting

8. Serkan Deniz end_of_the_skype_highlighting

9. Güzide Karadeniz 

10. Merve Mutaf end_of_the_skype_highlighting

11. Gökhan Özdemir

12. Ufuk Keskin 

13. Arda Yalılı 

14. Gökmen Tugay end_of_the_skype_highlighting

15. Kübra Demirend_of_the_skype_highlighting

16. Pınar Ongun end_of_the_skype_highlighting

17. Tutku Kekeç end_of_the_skype_highlighting

18. H. Türker Özdede end_of_the_skype_highlighting

19. Özlem Eren end_of_the_skype_highlighting

20. M. Fatih Çınarend_of_the_skype_highlighting

21. M.Göktug Dedeoğlu 

22. Emre Yükselend_of_the_skype_highlighting

23. Ufuk Topaloğlu 

24. Caner Karaalp end_of_the_skype_highlighting

25. Ayla Yavuzaslan end_of_the_skype_highlighting

26. Barış Biberoğlu end_of_the_skype_highlighting

27. Ömer Tüysüz end_of_the_skype_highlighting

Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi’nden katılacak olan öğrenciler

1. Ahmet Türel (2. sinif)   

2. Deniz Küçük (2. sinif)    

3. Gökhan Semiz (2. sinif)   

5. Pinar Tunç (4. sinif)   

6. Gözde Gürsoy (4. sinif)  

7. Hatice Yilmaz (4. sinif)   

8. Emine Keles (4. sinif)    

9. Ilker Sas (4. sinif)   

10. Hülya Turan (4. sinif)    

11. Seyda Basar (4. sinif)   

12. Mehtap Ayazoglu (4. sinif)  

13. Büsra Ince (4. sinif)   

14. Hatice Yavuz (4. sinif)  

15. Damla Demirkan (4. sinif) 

16. Burcu Çapkan (4. sinif) 

17. Mehpare Yildirim (4. sinif)

18. Deniz Uysal (4. sinif)

19. Kemal Erdogdu (2. sinif)

20. Emre Apak (2. sinif) 

21. Merve Ertosun

22. Mehmet Akif Yildiz

23. Sevinç Akkoyunlu (4. sinif)

Berlin Teknik Üniversitesinden katılan öğrenciler

1. Georgina Harvey

2. Martin Abbott

3. Kübra Benan Tan

4. Marcus Jeutner

5. Gabi Eisenreich

6. Birsen Öztürk

Beykent University Galata Workshop 2010 

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[1] Evliya Çelebi (1611-1682). Seyahatname. Istanbul: Yapı Kredi Kültür Sanat Yayıncılık (2003), p. 318.