"Istanbul Is Yours" is the main principle as the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality announces a series of urban design competitions for the public spaces of the city, prioritizing a participatory approach at every stage of the process. Public spaces must be lively, accessible, free, cheerful, peaceful and secure places where people can breathe and form democratic and social relationships. The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality will shape the design principles of Istanbul’s public spaces by consulting stakeholders, and listening to the needs and views of the people of the city at events organized under the theme “Istanbul Regains Its Public Spaces”.

In addition to these participatory works carried out for each of the focal points that form the most significant spatial components of the city’s public life, the general principles adopted for such spaces can be summarized as follows:

- Participation, transparency, and an approach based on collective intelligence

- A democratic spatial approach that develops social relationships emphasizes publicness and increases the quality of urban life

- People-oriented and ecology-oriented design attitudes that embrace disadvantaged groups in society, while rejecting social, cultural and class segregation and considering the children, the elderly and the disabled

- Emphasis on the concepts of urban identity, place, meaning, historical background and collective memory

- Defining the optimum building density and intensity of use regarding the nature of the place

- Increasing environmental quality and comfort of use

- Sustainable approaches that are responsive to nature and the environment

Type, Format and Language of the Competition

The competition is organized under the Article 23 of the Public Procurement Law of Republic of Turkey No. 4734, within the frame of the Regulations for Competitions of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Engineering, Urban Design Projects, Urban Planning and Works of Fine Art; as an international, two-stage urban design competition. The language of the competition is English.

Site and Scope of the Competition

The site of the competition is located within the Beyoglu and Sisli districts of Istanbul. The scope of the competition is the preparation of the urban design project for Taksim within the site specified.

The Aim of the Competition

The “Taksim Urban Design Competition” aims to develop solutions for the problems at one of the major public spaces of Istanbul. In tackling this problem, the competition endeavors to highlight economical, original and qualified design approaches as well as functional and innovative solutions that could provide insights into today’s architecture, identify project authors and projects with a contemporary, environmental and architectural approach, promote fine arts and related professions, reinforce ethical values, and provide architectural teams with an environment suitable for the acquisition of international competitiveness.

Competition Calendar
Stage 1 Calendar
Competition announcement: March 2, 2020
Deadline for questions regarding Stage 1: March 20, 2020
Answers regarding Stage 1: March 24, 2020
Deadline for submissions for Stage 1: May 10, 2020, 23:59 GMT+3
Jury session for Stage 1 begins: May 14, 2020

Stage 2 Calendar
Notifications to Stage 2: May 19, 2020
Deadline for site visit: May 28, 2020, 16:00 GMT+3
Deadline for questions regarding Stage 2: May 29, 2020
Answers regarding Stage 2: June 1, 2020
Deadline for submissions for Stage 2: June 29, 2020, 23:59 GMT+3
Jury session for Stage 2 begins: July 3, 2020
Award ceremony and colloquium: July 18, 2020, 14:00 GMT+3

Prizes and Payment Method

Each of the 20 projects that pass the first stage will be eligible to receive a prize payment of EUR 5,000.

In addition to the EUR 5,000 prize for stage 1, projects that move to stage 2 will receive the following:

28March 02, 2020 Taksim Urban Design Competition
Equivalent Prize: EUR 50,000 (3 in total)
Equivalent Mention: EUR 10,000 (5 in total)

Following the public announcement of the results, the prizes and mentions above will be paid to the winners within 30 days at the latest, in compliance with the Article 29 of the Turkish Income Tax Law No. 193. 

Location of the Colloquium 

The location of the colloquium will be announced along with the competition results.

Jury Members

Principal Jury Panel 

Ayşe Zeynep Ahunbay, Architect

İpek Akpınar Aksugür, Architect

Can Kubin, Urban Planner

Arzu Kutkam, Landscape Architect

Kerem Piker, Architect (Chairman of the Jury)

Manuel de Rivero, Architect

Rainer Schmidt, Landscape Architect

Substitute Jury Panel

Arman Akdoğan, Architect

Tomris Akın Paşaoğlu, Architect

Melih Birik, Urban Planner

Meltem Erdem Kaya, Landscape Architect

Read more details about competition, eligibility and rules on konkur Istanbul's website. 

Download the competition brief here. 

Download drones vides, drawings, specification appendices here. 

Top image courtesy of konkur Istanbul

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