AGORAPHOBIA - Investigating Turkey's Urban Transformation. A Road Movie. (Trailer)
Collaborators:
Middle East Technical University, Chamber of Architects Bursa, Building Information Center Turkey
AGORAPHOBIA
A FILM ON URBAN TRANSFORMATION IN TURKEY
Ankara, Bursa, Istanbul, TR 2012
workshops, debates, excursions, conferences, road trip
client: Netherlands Architecture Institute
The current wave of resistance against government action was triggered by the cutting of trees at Gezi park, just off Taksim Square in central Istanbul, in order to construct a large shopping mall in the form of historicist Ottoman military barracks. It is no coincidence that the unrest started with a police crackdown of protests against urban regeneration: urban issues form a major component of the protestors’ demands and urban regeneration has fuelled widespread discontent with public authorities.
In a country that is dealing with emergent issues of governance and economical development related to urban design and spatial planning, how is it possible to transform neighbourhoods and provide housing for the masses at an unprecedented speed and scale? Which role will a recent law play, that makes 6,5 million buildings eligible for transformation and demolition? Opposition is also growing. Protests have been staged against the demolition of culturally significant neighbourhoods and the displacement of communities. Critics point to the destruction of nature and the creation of dormitory towns, which lack amenities and public space. A significant amount of newly built high-rise housing could remain unoccupied.
This raises the question of how mass housing and regeneration could be better tailored to satisfying communities’ needs. What role can architecture and planning play in an industry that shows little concern for local contexts? And how might the experiences of local designers and planners, as well as colleagues from the Netherlands or UN-Habitat be relevant to these issues? In order to find answers, the architects, planners and a film crew travel from Ankara to Bursa and Istanbul consecutively. As part of their investigation, they visit transformation sites and interview the authorities in charge, scientists and local inhabitants.
Film poster by Artur Borejszo and Alexandar Hrib
AGORAPHOBIA
A FILM ON URBAN TRANSFORMATION IN TURKEY
Ankara, Bursa, Istanbul, TR 2012
workshops, debates, excursions, conferences, road trip
client: Netherlands Architecture Institute
The current wave of resistance against government action was triggered by the cutting of trees at Gezi park, just off Taksim Square in central Istanbul, in order to construct a large shopping mall in the form of historicist Ottoman military barracks. It is no coincidence that the unrest started with a police crackdown of protests against urban regeneration: urban issues form a major component of the protestors’ demands and urban regeneration has fuelled widespread discontent with public authorities.
In a country that is dealing with emergent issues of governance and economical development related to urban design and spatial planning, how is it possible to transform neighbourhoods and provide housing for the masses at an unprecedented speed and scale? Which role will a recent law play, that makes 6,5 million buildings eligible for transformation and demolition? Opposition is also growing. Protests have been staged against the demolition of culturally significant neighbourhoods and the displacement of communities. Critics point to the destruction of nature and the creation of dormitory towns, which lack amenities and public space. A significant amount of newly built high-rise housing could remain unoccupied.
This raises the question of how mass housing and regeneration could be better tailored to satisfying communities’ needs. What role can architecture and planning play in an industry that shows little concern for local contexts? And how might the experiences of local designers and planners, as well as colleagues from the Netherlands or UN-Habitat be relevant to these issues? In order to find answers, the architects, planners and a film crew travel from Ankara to Bursa and Istanbul consecutively. As part of their investigation, they visit transformation sites and interview the authorities in charge, scientists and local inhabitants.