Ctrl+Space Announces Winners of Istanbul Community Market Ideas Competition

As a starting point to bring to discussion the Marketplace typology: its present challenges and future opportunities. The competition called for proposals that brought to light the positive qualities of markets and test them in the specific context of Istanbul, where the urban commercial activity is still of great presence and importance. The selected projects have managed to bring to light issues of conceptual relevance to the discussion of the typology as well as the Intervention Site.

Themes discussed revolved around the needs of the community, the strong historical context, the relevance and usefulness of the existing buildings, the formal evolution of the typology, the changing needs of a public space, permanent vs. ephemeral strategies, the commercial activity as an urban activator. Privileged were the solutions that presented innovative qualities to the conceptualization and formalization of the Marketplace.

FIRST PRIZE: “Sprouting from the Ancients”
by M. Baris Yegena and Ozge Ozkul from Yegena Architectural Design Office, Istanbul – Turkey

From the Jury: “The Jury praised the strong graphical effect evoked by the arches that virtually fill the urban void. This lightweight structure helps creating a strong sense of identity to the intervention.

An exceptional project that presents a compelling case about the preservation of the memory of the place. There was a clear and deliberate effort to keep the space open and build as little as possible.

The marketplace becomes then an open-air market, with its inherent flexibility and multitude of uses. Below this public function, the second layer topography created on the site is also quite powerful.

An awareness of the memory of the place is evident by taking into account the protected archeological area of this part of the city, the views that open over the archeological site, as well as the preservation of the existing buildings.  The strength of the proposal comes from this protective approach to the needs of the site, which is then crowned by these rhythmic sprouts.”

SECOND PRIZE: “The Inhabited Image” by Michael Casey Rehm, Kellan Cartledge and Xiang Tai Sun, from Studio Kinch – Los Angeles, USA

From the Jury: “This project blurs the functionally very simple and efficient structural form with the use of a voxel ornament in a very speculative way.

The dissolving boxed form merged with the use of image mapping in the interior space create countless possibilities of cultural and formal experiences in the interior within its complex plasticity.

While the building itself looks very modest, in the exterior the strong aesthetic statement of the small units reflects and creates a very dynamic and playful background for the city.

The Jury team felt that conceptually, the simple structural grid is enriched by this technologically altered element that replicates digitally the imagery of the market produce, providing a rich sensorial experience, relating thus to Turkish street markets.“

THIRD PRIZE: “A Hanging Marketplace” by Stefan Lengen and Henrik Cheung, from FELT Architecture, London – UK

From the Jury: “The Jury praised this typological experiment that translates formally into a stratified structure. The use of multiple levels in the project is very promising to a dynamic use of space.

The sense of community is generated by merging people and space through the formal and informal commercial activities that happen at the different platforms.

Due to its essential form, the project could look very independent in the context of the neighborhood, but with the dynamic usage it presents a very big potential to be a unique spatial experience.

The different modules attached to the structure provide different interior space and in the overall form these closed volumes work in accordance to create the feeling of hanging garden.”
HONORABLE MENTIONS – A Total of seven Honorable Mentions were selected by the Jury as being of great relevance by the themes discussed and overall high-quality of spaces and atmospheres generated.
HM01 – Project by French-Italian team Mathias Lefebvre and Andrea Siciliani
HM02 – “The Alchemist’s Market” by Onur Karadeniz, from Istanbul – Turkey
HM03 – “A cloud in the city” by Benoit Bourd from Paris – France
HM04 – “OTOMARK” by Tommaso Mennuni, Margherita De Nardis, Ceren Ozsahin and Ivano Viceconte, from Rome – Italy
HM05 – “Istanbul Community Flea Market” by Valentín Brügger, Alejandro Brunelli, Joaquín Pérez Grosso and Agustín Sosa Argañaras, from Córdoba – Argentina
HM06 – “The City Below, The Ground Above” by team lead by Orhan Ayyuce, Mitchell De Jarnett, and Joshua G. Stein from Los Angeles – CA, USA
HM07 – “Orman Pazari” by Bence Zólyom from BZ Architektur – Germany and Péter Zilahi, Tamás Dancs from P8 Workshop – Hungary.

Source and images, Courtesy of  Ctrl+Space Architectural Competitions