Archasm has announced a new competition for a pop-up bazaar at the heart of Istanbul. The oriental establishments of the Middle-East, Northern Africa and some parts of Europe all mention the bustling marketplaces in their popular culture. They weren’t just the main centers of trade and business, but were multifunctional entities that contributed to the social and cultural exchange between people and civilizations. These marketplaces were called by different names in different regions and languages; Bazaar in Persian, Souk in Arabic etc. Today, bazaars tend to be found in a city's medina (old quarter) and are often important tourist attractions.

A bazaar was originally an open-air marketplace that were held outside cities at locations where incoming caravans stopped and merchants displayed their goods for sale. Bazaars often extended beyond buying and selling goods to include major festivals involving various cultural and social activities. These bazaars formed networks, linking major cities with each other in which goods, culture, people and information could be exchanged. 

Istanbul, one of the oldest living cities of the world is the bridge between the East and the west as it has embraced both the eastern and the western civilizations. It is home to the Grand Bazaar, the oldest and biggest bazaar in the world that was the socio-economic center of the city at one point of time. As the contemporary influence grows, traditional bazaars are morphing into shopping arcades and malls that are more systematic in their approach. The arcades bring the global culture with them, which is fairly common everywhere in the world. It creates a cultural and social vacuum as these contemporary arcades eliminate the ‘local’ element from these shopping clusters and emphasize on the economic aspect of trade.

The aim of the competition is to design a pop-up bazaarin the heart of Istanbul with the aim of replicating a traditional market in a contemporary way. The proposal must be a poetic response for a temporary/semi-permanent market that attends to its primary function and become a vital urban insertion in the culturally-rich ecosystem.

The proposal must create an avant-garde and innovative module for a market space in a contemporary fashion, while reflecting on the oriental nature of a bazaar typology. The proposal must generate a discussion about the co-relation of community and street commerce under a single roof. 

The proposal must strive to create a dynamic multifunctional envelope that can incorporate many functions and use the space optimally. The proposal must add a new dimension to a ‘pop-up’ typology by putting the envelope/structure to different uses during different times/days according to their narrative. 

The market must become an important landmark for the neighborhood and an architectural icon that attracts more and more people. The pop-up market should become a strong reference point that would generate awareness towards the preservation of traditions and adopt a cohesive relationship with the modern setup.

Schedule

Start of Competition and Early Registration: 1st November 2018

Early Registration ends: 31st January 2019

Standard Registration starts: 1st February 2019

Standard Registration ends: 27th February 2019

Closing day for Submissions 28th February 2019

Announcement of Winners: 25th March 2019

*Note: All deadlines are 11:59 pm - 00:00 IST (India).

Awards

Winning participants will receive prizes totaling INR 2,00,000 with the distribution as follows:

First prize- INR 1,00,000/- + Certificate 

Second prize- INR 60,000/- + Certificate

Third prize- INR 40,000/- + Certificate

10 Honorable mentions

Winners and honorable mentions will be published on archasm’s website and several international architecture magazines and websites partnered by Archasm.

Registrations

Early Registration:

From 1stNovember 2018 to 31stJanuary 2019

For Indian nationals- INR 1500 (per team)

For Foreign nationals- EUR 60 (per team)

Standard Registration:

From 1stFebruary 2019 to 27thFebruary 2019

For Indian nationals- INR 1800 (per team)

For Foreign nationals- EUR 80 (per team)

Entrants may register by filling the registration form and submitting it with the appropriate payment through our secure gateway on the competition's website. 

Discount

Group discounts apply for a minimum of 5 teams from one particular architecture school/university as our initiative to promote more participation from students.

Send us the following details at [email protected] to avail the offer.

Names of all the participating team members and their respective team leaders.

Name of the university.

School ID proofs of the team leaders.

Note:

It will not be possible to amend or update any information relating to your registration including the names of team members once validated.

Terms and Conditions

Please see the terms and conditions section on the competition's website. 

Competition Project Disclaimer

This is an open international competition hosted by archasm to generate progressive design ideas. There are no plans for the market to be built. The competition is organized for education purpose only.

To see other details, please visit the competition's website. 

Top image courtesy of Archasm. 

> via Archasm