Spaces of Hope

Abstract

My design focuses on creating a community space in Kanarya, Istanbul, with two main goals. The primary goal is to establish a safe space that provides all the necessary tools which are needed after an earthquake disaster. The residents of the neighborhood can come together in the self-sustaining building, which serves as a gathering point (based on the AFAD designated areas) after a disaster to have a safe space, away from the probably destroyed city. Later the building will facilitate the community with its “healing” character and give the community the space to recover after a disaster. The second goal is to use the proposed building before a disaster occurs. The reasoning behind that is so that communities can get familiar with the facilities, and create memories and a sense of belonging to the place. The building design, of a community kitchen, in the neighborhood Kanarya (before the disaster) contributes not only to the daily lives of residents but also to the overall development of the are by creating employment opportunities and facilities that attract people from neighboring localities. The community kitchen aims to provide inhabitants with a daily goal that aligns with the community’s needs. Keeping these requirements in mind, the community kitchen in Kanarya will include a market area and workshop spaces. Here, residents will be able to grow food, cook together, start small crafting projects, such as knitting, and have the opportunity to sell their creations, which aims to provide economic growth within the community. Many design decisions made during the design process are primarily based on the experience of people after the earthquakes on the 6th of February 2023 in Kahramanmaraş. This knowledge was mainly acquired during my work for the Architectural Recovery Team, a foundation created with fellow students to reconstruct long-term housing after the disaster. Besides that, my design decisions are based on the research conducted about disaster preparedness and the psychological influences of space to create a resilient city.