Re-Normal

Reintegrating the Izmir Hilton into the city: Could confinement be the beginning of liberation?
In the reuse project, the main programs of the Faculty of Fine Arts and the Metropolitan Municipality were presented as options, and an additional program was proposed as a cross-programming solution.
The numerous cafes, accommodations, and social spaces surrounding the building made it suitable for conversion into a Faculty of Fine Arts. Its role as an educational facility also led me to Foucault's concept of "spaces of confinement."
While prisons are often perceived as places of confinement in society, according to Foucault, public structures such as schools, hospitals, asylums, and prisons are also closed systems that control individuals. In this context, I propose an additional program that utilizes the healing and unifying power of art to reintegrate inmates into society. The project offers inmates spaces where they can be productive, creative, and engage in social connection during the day, while envisioning a return to controlled sleeping quarters at night. This rhythm aims to soften the boundary between the experience of freedom and surveillance and to prepare individuals for their transition to civilian life. According to Tezer Özlü, prisoners' families suffer both materially and emotionally. Therefore, it is recommended that prisons be accessible and located in the city center. The Hilton, located at the intersection of high-traffic pedestrian zones such as Kemeraltı, Saat Kulesi, and Kıbrıs Şehitleri, supports this idea.
In short, prisons confine not only inmates but also society itself with invisible walls. In this project, I sought to make the confined visible and liberate space by using art as a tool.
On Prison Typology
To begin my project, I first examined the existing prison types in Turkey and their history. The first prison types had a single entrance and shared kitchen and bathroom facilities. Later, the kitchen was incorporated into the cells. Entrances for inmates and visitors were separated, creating shared social and cultural spaces. In advanced cell types, corridors emerged, allowing for easy observation. Dining and sleeping areas within the cells are vertically separated. Cells with 50–60 inmates were transitioned to a 10-person room system. Over time, the number of people in a cell decreased. I integrated the syntheses derived from my research and the existing horizontally distributed blocks into my project by stacking them vertically.
Spatial Interventions and Structural Approaches
While Izmir is a vibrant city with its balconies and shaded streets, Hilton is quite insular. In my intervention, I first connected the streets and created a public void at the main entrance. By separating the base from the tower, I harmonized with the surrounding building scales. I utilized this separation space as a shared courtyard for the inmates.
By continuing the volumetric movement on the terraces vertically, I enhanced the building's orientation towards the void. This movement, which continued at times in the tower, created a sense of incompleteness. The public spaces I placed between the student and inmate areas created a buffer zone, enabling encounters.
As part of the project, the vertical load-bearing elements (columns) in the sections of the base that function as cantilevers in the void were removed, and structural support was provided by a steel truss system. In this system, the weight of a protruding mass (the cantilever) was balanced by the steel truss structure. The top chord carried the compressive force, while the bottom chord carried the tensile force; the diagonal members distributed these forces within the truss. The load was transferred to the structure through the end of the truss extending into the interior, bringing the system into balance.
Translucent polycarbonate panels were used in areas where the existing façade boundaries were preserved. The large footprint of the base provided homogeneous and soft daylight to the interior, reducing the need for electrical lighting and creating a light and homogeneous appearance on the façade.
The existing hotel rooms in the tower were utilized as inmate accommodations. Gallery spaces were opened to increase permeability and interaction between floors. Terraces increased interaction with the outside.
Conclusion
Oscillating between confinement and freedom, this structure offers inmates a safe connection to civilian life and society the opportunity for confrontation and restoration. The structure no longer represents only the past but also transformation.

What are the Spaces of Unity in the Buffer Zone Like?

Art Fair: A social event where collaboratively produced works are exhibited, accompanied by their designers, and where visitors interact as if they were wandering through a marketplace.

Bead Weaving: An event focused on collaboration and sharing, where bead weaving, a common practice in Turkish prisons, is reinterpreted by inmates, students, and the public.

Open Studio: An open and interactive workspace where the first works of sound art are produced, and where the atmosphere surrounding the art creation process can be observed and experienced by everyone.

Carpet Concerts: A common scene in Turkish prisons: inmates singing songs to their friends in the cells, holding saz (a saz). This intimate atmosphere brings students and the public together, where warm and intimate concerts take place.

Common Canvas: A collective work where inmates, artists, students, and the public create together, sharing diverse life experiences on a large canvas.

Psychodrama space: Psychodrama techniques are used to remove boundaries between inmates, students, and the public. By focusing on shared human experiences and emotions, rather than identities or statuses, an environment is created where everyone feels equal and safe. This allows each individual to express themselves freely, and mutual understanding develops.

Emine Aksoy (designer)
- Prof. Dr. Yenal Akgün (Lecturer)
- Prof. Dr. Gül Deniz Dokgöz (Lecturer)
- Prof. Dr. İlknur Türkseven Doğrusoy (Lecturer)
- Research Assistant Fulya Selçuk (Lecturer)