Initial memorial typology for place for Taksim :
Cemetery and necropolis history / Space turned in to PLACE, placemaking
The body part of the earth does not wait for exploration. The existence of space lives in its own kinesis when it is born. The body of space grows, moves, flows... It lives and refreshes itself in cycles. The communication way which it chooses depends on stimulus responses of inter-species. Living forms in all layers of the earth met on the hill of the Pera area 1500 years ago. Space turned in to a place when humans pointed the land as a graveyard which makes
the hill a memorial place of Istanbul for the first time.
RECALLING THE COLLECTIVE MEMORY
When Freud presented “Wunderblock” as a model to demonstrate perception, consciousness and subconsciousness as layers of the human psyche, people have already begun to perceive the bottom layer in the model, the beeswax as the medium with which memory is stored. Wunderblock consisted of a celluloid layer on which written word is inscribed, a wax paper layer to transfer the written word to the bottom layer, a thicker beeswax to hold the image even when the top two layers were removed. Freud argued that the human mind recorded memories in the same way, first recording them to their “id” by using the “ego” as a means of transfer and permanently stored them in their “super ego”. The way it is set up, Wunderblock could easily be misconstrued as the way the mind works. Unlike the contraption, the mind not only recalled what was written in the past, but also a host of memories and feelings associated with the event.
Therefore, spaces to encompass the collective memories of societies; such as plazas and squares should be designed merely as “topos” that aided the recollection of common memories but should also aid the public to connect to the them beyond their physical mass, adding symbolic meanings to be recalled in the subconscious mind. To this end, the articles of the collective memory should not be confined to places where we safe-keep our past in places such as libraries, archives or museums. Rather, we should express our past in the present to help recall those memories and and create a positive synthesis in our design of public spaces. In other words, we should extract art from the archives of the collective memory and help people attach new sentiments or meanings to them by utilizing them in open, public spaces for all to see.
EXPERIMENTAL SPACE; COLLECTIVE IDENTITY
The monotonous nature of daily life in the modern urban environment creates a negative impact of the physical and spiritual health of the citizens. We should therefore offer a new approach to designing public spaces to break the vicious cycle of negative interaction between the people and their environment. It is already impossible to experience the spatial aspects of places in a metropolis like Istanbul; the speed of the daily grind hardly allows it. The concept of a square tends to lose its appeal by inevitably turning into a hub of mass transportation; Taksim Square being a typical example. The trick is to utilize the same space to help masses to slow down and take in the urban spirit, by breaking down repetitions and lending a new life and make them a viable aid for the human experience. Taksim lives in a vegetative state for many years. The potential of the area described as a "Wundercloud" which is full of potential energy to able to create. Point cloud embraces all of the places that have already been there. It covered the ruins which were destroyed once upon a time. And the cloud points out the possibilities that could embody the Taksim.
Strategies for Taksim Square as Public Space for Service
Local tourism through Permanent Exhibitions. Preserving material and immaterial heritage by transformation into tourism destination through embedded permanent exhibitions as cultural service. Physical Activity Especially for Children and Young People. Improve citizen health and well-being through spaces that can be used for sports and recreational activities in particular physical activity of children and young people and to sustainable family life by creating green open spaces.
Participation in Urban Life for All. Contribute to gender equality by improving comfort of women and girls, elderly and marginalized groups. Better lighting, wider pavements, transparency for security (see and be seen) and well maintained and accessible facilities such as public toilets as a first step to make women and girls feel safer in public spaces. Public hygiene as a service also through enhanced public health concepts such as drinking water. Public Space as a Driver for Urban Economics. City’s need to view public space as a driver for economic development within urban areas. The potential to generate income via market/retail zone improves the quality of public space as it stimulates consumption, improves security, and people's general perception of an area. Retail service in public space at the same time needs to be coordinated with neighbouring retail zones through complementary products and service offerings. Nature and Natural Eco-systems as Wellness. Urban space in terms of parks has been an element of the life of city’s since the 18th century. Today through increasing density of city’s the “nature” of these natural zones needs to be re-assessed in terms of wellness and health. Nature and natural ecosystems such as airflow, sunlight, flora and fora need to be seen as a focused wellness service provided by public space to improve mental and physical health, Qualitie of the Square
- Joining the layers of Istanbul's history and archaeology as public space
- Natural meditation zone for Taksim Square and Gezi Park
- Unify living layers through point cloud.
- Zone generated by circulation scenarios
- Market street
- Creative and artful
- A flexible plaza, canopies can be adjusted
- Daylighting the underground public function to bring levels together unified with market areas and public hygiene and
restroom.
Technical Properties of the Proposal: