PROJECT TEAM:
- Architects: Aras Burak
- Consultant: Gözde Kızılkan
PROJECT INFORMATION:
- Location: Istanbul, Turkey
- Type: Competition Entry (Not Submitted)
- Client: Kadıköy İlçe Belediyesi
- Duration: 2025
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
As a team of architects who spent our youth in Kadıköy, we wanted to participate in the Kadıköy Municipality Building competition. Unfortunately, due to a series of challenges related to remote collaboration, we were not able to officially submit our entry. However, since we believe we still have something to say, we wanted to share the parts of our project that we consider important — even if some aspects remain unfinished. In the wake of Istanbul’s rapid transformation following the 1999 İzmit earthquake, Kadıköy has become a center of urban renewal, where historic landmarks along Bağdat Street, Erenköy, and Kadıköy have been systematically erased. The existing Kadıköy Municipality Building has long served as a recognizable landmark, aiding wayfinding and reinforcing Kadıköy’s identity as a civic hub. In response, our proposal preserves the memory of the three-armed form as an “urban memory”, ensuring that the new structure remains a spatial anchor for the community. More than just an administrative building, this design reimagines the municipality as a meeting point for the people—a place for celebrations, protests, and civic gatherings. The central portion of the peace-sign-like form is intentionally subtracted, carving out an open public plaza that allows free movement through the building rather than creating an urban blockage.
This void becomes the heart of the project, fostering democratic engagement and offering a civic stage for public expression. Structurally, the building embraces seismic resilience and visibility, embodying safety and permanence through an exposed structural system reminiscent of Sol LeWitt’s white cube sculptures. The rational grid expresses clarity, order, and strength, reinforcing the public’s confidence in a structure designed to withstand Istanbul’s seismic future. A feature staircase spirals down through the core of the building, visually connecting high-level governance with the public square below. This central void transforms the staircase into a theatrical moment—allowing administration to remain visually engaged with the civic activities unfolding at the ground level. The project also responds to Kadıköy’s evolving urban flow, integrating movement from the newly developed Söğütlüçeşme Station and Mall, as well as the adjacent Fenerbahçe Stadium. The southwest axis serves as a primary pedestrian corridor, reinforcing the building’s permeability and ensuring it remains an integral part of Kadıköy’s civic and social fabric. By merging structural clarity, urban memory, and civic openness, the new Kadıköy Municipality Building is more than just an institution—it is a dynamic urban stage, a democratic forum, and a resilient landmark for the future of Istanbul.
