Student Project | Air-Mindedness | Bilge Kobak

When turning a logistics greyfield into an urban park, the first important thing was to make it a part of the region’s open space network.  In this way it also meets the purpose of the studio where it defines a dynamic and open-ended space.

The project transforms the existing site and buildings into a multifunctional urban park that will function as an activator in the region as a new regional link. It uses canal restoration, productive landscape, phytoremediation and natural succession as methods.

An environmental compensation was the main point for planting design. Local species were given the most importance. Adaptive reuse was the strategy for most buildings. The control tower is turned into the site landmark. By reusing the same concrete of the airstrip’s ground as an urban furniture material, the concrete that was once the meeting point of the people will keep providing the same service in a different form.

Underground canals are activated with new functions in order to revive the connection to water.  They also represent the former runway of the airport with their shapes.  The survey results are taken into consideration for the path layout and that’s why the form of the whole masterplan is generated by taking the symbolism of a place where people meet or say goodbye to each other etc. Additionally, the airport is generally characterized by a lack of vertical elements. 

The invention of aerial view has changed the perspectives. Horizontal design gained importance and our attention has been drawn back to the ground. And since the site is very flat and has very small elevation changes, creating high levels where people can experience the park from an aerial view and not just only from the ground was critical. That is why, changes in the elevation, observation decks, high altitudes and hills are seen in the masterplan. The entire design is based on the interlinking of the city space, contributing the collective memory of the region and creating a new urban park that provides many activities that can no longer be accommodated elsewhere in the city because of the constantly changing metropole city and its citizen.  

Halit Ziya Uşaklıgil who gave the name to the region describes Yeşilköy as “ a  quiet place but yet still has the spirit of the islands.” The park offers its visitors to give a break from the metropol life while still keeping its dynamism.

Student Project | Air-Mindedness | Bilge Kobak

Student Name: Bilge Kobak  

Project Name: Air-Mindedness: Istanbul Atatürk Airport Transformation

School: Istanbul Technical University

Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Meltem ERDEM KAYA

Assoc. Prof. Dr. F. Ayçim TÜRER BAŞKAYA

Assist.Prof. Muhammed Ali ÖRNEK

About Terren Shi 116 Articles
Terren is an emerging graduate landscape architect with a passion for design theory and history. She holds a Bachelor of Design and a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Melbourne, which she completed in 2020 and 2022 respectively. Currently, Terren works as a sessional tutor at the Melbourne School of Design. She also contributes interviews and essays on landscape architecture and design.