KITCHEN GARDEN

KITCHEN GARDEN/ALSANCAK
A GARDEN AS A PLACE, A KITCHEN AS AN ACT

1.THE CONVERSATIONS THAT ONCE TOOK PLACE IN THE GARDEN OF EPICURUS’ HOUSE EVENTUALLY BECAME NOT ONLY A SPACE FOR PHILOSOPHICAL THINKING, BUT ALSO A GROUND FOR COLLECTIVE PRODUCTION, SHARING, AND THE RECONSTRUCTION OF LIFE. “KITCHEN GARDEN” REINTERPRETS THIS HISTORICAL IMAGE WITHIN TODAY’S URBAN CONTEXT, CREATING A SURFACE OF ENCOUNTER WHERE PRODUCTION IS BOTH A PHYSICAL AND INTELLECTUAL ACT.
THE PROJECT IS DEFINED THROUGH TWO DISTINCT ARCHITECTURAL MASSES:
HORIZONTAL BASE: PUBLIC KITCHENS AND PRODUCTIVE GARDENS
THIS MASS, GROUNDED IN THE EARTH, INCLUDES KITCHENS, WORKSHOPS, AND OPEN PRODUCTION AREAS. THE PLATFORM IS DESIGNED TO BE PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE, OFFERING A POROUS GROUND WHERE COOKING, PRODUCING, SHARING, AND DISCUSSING BLEND INTO DAILY LIFE.
HERE, THE KITCHEN IS NOT MERELY A PLACE FOR FOOD PREPARATION, BUT A SOCIAL STAGE WHERE KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE, AND COLLECTIVE LABOR ARE GENERATED. THE GARDENS ENSURE SEASONALITY AND CONTINUITY IN THIS PRODUCTION CYCLE, ACTING AS A LIVING, DYNAMIC GROUND.
VERTICAL GARDEN: A SPACE FOR RESEARCH AND OBSERVATION
THE SECOND, VERTICALLY ORIENTED MASS FUNCTIONS AS A CONTROLLED PRODUCTION LABORATORY EXCLUSIVELY ACCESSIBLE TO RESEARCHERS. THIS LAYERED STRUCTURE IS COMPOSED OF MODULAR VERTICAL FARMING UNITS. IT OPERATES ON A PARALLEL AXIS WHERE PHYSICAL AND INTELLECTUAL PRODUCTION TAKE PLACE THROUGH OBSERVATION, DATA COLLECTION, AND EXPERIMENTATION.
ALTHOUGH NOT PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE, THE VERTICAL GARDEN MAINTAINS A CONSTANT RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PUBLIC REALM—A VISIBLE, TRANSPARENT SURFACE OF PRODUCTION.
CIRCULARITY AND PROPOSAL
“KITCHEN GARDEN” APPROACHES PRODUCTION NOT ONLY THROUGH FOOD, BUT ALSO THROUGH KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE, AND SOCIAL INTERACTION.

THE COMPOSTING CYCLE, VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL PRODUCTION SYSTEMS, AND THE COLLECTIVE ACT OF COOKING AND SHARING TOGETHER REDEFINE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HUMAN AND NATURE.
THE PROJECT ESTABLISHES AN EDUCATIONAL MODEL THAT DOES NOT RESIDE MERELY WITHIN ENCLOSED SPACES, BUT EXISTS AS A LIVING SYSTEM WITHIN THE GARDEN ITSELF.

2.HISTORY AND ARCHITECTURAL TEXTURE OF ALSANCAK
ALSANCAK IS ONE OF THE MOST CENTRAL AND VIBRANT NEIGHBORHOODS OF IZMIR. HISTORICALLY, IT BECAME AN IMPORTANT SETTLEMENT AREA DURING THE LATE 19TH AND EARLY 20TH CENTURIES IN THE OTTOMAN PERIOD, WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF IZMIR’S PORT AREA. ITS CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE PORT MADE IT STRATEGICALLY SIGNIFICANT FOR TRADE AND TRANSPORTATION.
THE HISTORICAL TEXTURE OF ALSANCAK REFLECTS IZMIR’S COSMOPOLITAN CHARACTER. DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT NATIONALITIES, BOTH OTTOMAN AND EUROPEAN ARCHITECTURAL INFLUENCES ARE SEEN TOGETHER. BUILDINGS FROM THE LATE 19TH AND EARLY 20TH CENTURIES WERE TYPICALLY MADE USING STONE AND BRICK MATERIALS.
ARCHITECTURALLY, ALSANCAK BLENDS CLASSIC OTTOMAN STONE BUILDINGS WITH EARLY REPUBLICAN ERA STRUCTURES. THE STREETS HAVE A NARROW AND ORDERLY LAYOUT. FEATURES SUCH AS BAY WINDOWS, WIDE BALCONIES, AND HIGH CEILINGS, WHICH ARE CHARACTERISTIC OF OTTOMAN ARCHITECTURE, CAN BE OBSERVED. ADDITIONALLY, INFLUENCES FROM EUROPEAN ARCHITECTURAL MOVEMENTS LIKE ART NOUVEAU AND NEOCLASSICAL CAN ALSO BE NOTICED.
TODAY, ALSANCAK IS A NEIGHBORHOOD THAT PRESERVES ITS HISTORICAL TEXTURE WHILE ALSO INCORPORATING MODERN BUILDINGS, MAKING IT A CULTURAL AND SOCIAL CENTER OF IZMIR. IMPORTANT LOCATIONS SUCH AS THE OLD FERRY TERMINAL AND KIBRIS SEHITLERI STREET ARE KEY PARTS OF THIS TEXTURE.

3.EGE PALAS
EGE PALAS, LOCATED IN ALSANCAK, IZMIR, IS A MASSIVE AND HEAVY-BODIED BUILDING CONSTRUCTED IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY, REFLECTING THE ARCHITECTURAL APPROACH OF ITS TIME. IT HAS A LIMITED AND DISCONNECTED RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CITY; ITS STRONG AND MONOLITHIC MASS DOES NOT ESTABLISH SPATIAL DIALOGUE WITH ITS SURROUNDINGS, AND IT LACKS BOTH HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL PERMEABILITY.
THE NEW DESIGN MAKES A REFERENCE TO THE ADJACENT EGE PALAS, AIMING TO OVERCOME THIS DISCONNECTED MASSING CONCEPT. THROUGH THE CREATION OF VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL VOID SPACES, THE MASS FORMS A MORE OPEN AND ORGANIC RELATIONSHIP WITH ITS CONTEXT. OPEN ATRIUMS AND HORIZONTAL OPENINGS ENABLE THE SPACES TO BREATHE BETWEEN INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR, ACHIEVING A STRONG CONTINUITY WITH THE URBAN FABRIC.
THANKS TO THESE VOIDS, THE BUILDING TRANSFORMS FROM A CLOSED AND STATIC VOLUME INTO A DYNAMIC AND MULTILAYERED ENTITY THAT INTEGRATES WITH THE CITY’S TEXTURE. THEREFORE, IT BECOMES AN ACTIVE STRUCTURE IN TERMS OF SOCIAL AND SPATIAL INTERACTION, NOT ONLY DEFINED BY ITS MASS BUT ALSO BY ITS SPATIAL ORGANIZATION AND OPENINGS.

THE PROJECT CONSISTS OF TWO MAIN VOLUMES.
THE FIRST VOLUME IS A HORIZONTAL BASE DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO THE GROUND AND INTEGRATED WITH GARDENS. THIS BASE HOUSES THE EDUCATIONAL KITCHENS OF THE CULINARY ARTS INSTITUTE, AS WELL AS CAFES, RESTAURANTS, AND A TV STUDIO. IT FEATURES GARDENS AND TERRACES THAT ESTABLISH A STRONG CONNECTION WITH THE CITY AND ITS USERS.

THE SPATIAL ORGANIZATION BLURS THE BOUNDARIES BETWEEN INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR, EXTENDING THE EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES INTO THE GARDENS AND TERRACES. THIS VOLUME IS DESIGNED AS A CULINARY ARTS INSTITUTE WHERE EDUCATION FLOWS SEAMLESSLY BETWEEN INDOOR AND OUTDOOR SPACES, CREATING A DYNAMIC INTERPLAY BETWEEN INSIDE AND OUTSIDE.

THE SECOND VOLUME IS A VERTICAL, PROMINENTLY RISING STRUCTURE THAT DEFINES ITSELF AS AN AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE. IT IS CLOSED OFF TO THE PUBLIC AND COMPRISES OFFICES AND A CAFETERIA. THE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS PRODUCED WITHIN THIS VERTICAL VOLUME CAN BE UTILIZED IN THE EDUCATIONAL KITCHENS LOCATED IN THE BASE.

THROUGH THE GREEN VOID SPACES AND TERRACES CREATED BY THE VOLUME, THE BUILDING VISUALLY ASSERTS ITSELF WITHIN THE CITY AND ESTABLISHES VISUAL COMMUNICATION. THIS APPROACH PRESENTS A NEW VERTICALITY WITHIN ALSANCAK, ASSERTING THE STRUCTURE’S PRESENCE STRONGLY IN THE URBAN FABRIC. THE VOLUME IS COMPOSED OF OFFICE MODULES ATTACHED TO A RISING CORE, DEMONSTRATING A FUNCTIONAL AND STRUCTURAL DYNAMISM.