Architectural Team:  Korkut Yildirim,  Hilal Cumhur, Yagmur Goksuzoglu

Landscape Architect: Süveyda Bayraktar  Atagur

City and Regional Planner: Cihan Şehla

​

​

Project Land : Tekirdag, Corlu

Project Area: 217,350 m²

Total Construction Area: 102,980 m²

Total Number of Residences: 567 Units

​

​

“NEIGHBORHOOD LIFE IS PEOPLE TAKING THE STAGE.” 

“The neighborhood is the foundation and essence of the city.

It is the basis for the formation of urban relations.

It is a state of living, a feeling, a vision and even a learning opportunity.

A large organization such as a neighborhood or a city is an effective life actor.

The neighborhood is the aesthetic, architectural, cultural, social and legal plane of human relations.  (Koksal Alver)

Today, the biggest obstacle to the construction of the 'New Neighborhood' is that the concept of 'Neighborhood' reminds people of past neighborhoods and snapshots. 

Trying to repeat the urbanism and architectural texture of the past will bring along some chronic problems and deadlocks arising from the nature of the past settlements.

In this newly constructed neighborhood, we did not get stuck in the 'formal' structure of the past, but handled the 'Essence', 'Meaning' of the neighborhood, the emotions it felt, with a contemporary planning approach that would respond to today's needs.

From this point of view, the first setup of the project was created in search of a spatial organization where one could walk, play games, meet and go to the market.

The spatial setup and scale of the neighborhood, which allows this face-to-face communication, unfortunately remains a romantic approach, a poetic expression or an act of remembering the old days for today's cities that change and grow uncontrollably and rapidly. Although the traditional neighborhood pattern is widely in everyone's imagination, it is weak in responding to the current needs in today's cities where the population is increasing rapidly, social relations are constantly changing, and the urban life is built on the time algorithm. Being global, modernization and the reflection of technology on human life have added some illusory needs to human life and continue to do so day by day. Changing and transforming human needs in this way, or in other words what is presented as a need, have also started a change on living spaces. In this direction, the city has begun to be reinterpreted, new spatial organizations have been produced, and architecture has begun to be reinterpreted on changing lives.

With the advancing time and changing lifestyles, the change of space is inevitable, but also necessary. At this point, the important thing is; The effect of the aforementioned chain changes on relationships and communication, and the effect on references to the past.

In this direction, it is a great need to synthesize traditional neighborhood life with modern urban spaces in order to overcome the social and communication gap created by modern urban spaces. While this synthesis will meet the spatial demands of today's urban users, it will also reference traditional life.

It was aimed to reach this synthesis while creating the sub-neighborhood structure connected to Çorlu (Tekirdağ) city center.

PLANNING APPROACH

The design setup of the sub-neighborhood, which is the subject of the competition, started by evaluating the current and potential location of the area in the whole city, and its relationship with the city center and surrounding settlements.

Although the settlement date is based on the prehistoric period according to written sources, it is very difficult to find spatial references to this date today. Today, Çorlu has taken the role of industry in line with its proximity to the Istanbul Metropolis and the environmental plan decisions developed for Marmara and Thrace. The city welcomes the visitors coming from Istanbul with industrial areas and sends them off with industrial areas when leaving in the direction of Thrace. The city center, which is between two industrial areas on the east and west borders, is bordered by agricultural areas in the south and north.

A planning model that can play a role in meeting the settlement needs of the employment generation that emerged with the industry was aimed, and at the same time, the traces of agricultural characteristics to break the gray perception created by the industrial function, based on the philosophy of "neighborhood is an ecosystem", were also reflected in the planning model.

In this context, accessibility, which is the first element that will provide fiction and environmental communication, has been evaluated. In the current situation, the city is connected to major cities such as Istanbul and Edirne on a regional scale by the D100 highway, and Salih Omurtak and Kumyol streets in the east-west direction leaving the highway are the most important main arterial axes feeding the city center.  Another artery leaving the city center, Ali Osman Çelebi Boulevard, connects the city to Tekirdağ and the coastal settlements. Atatürk, Çetin Emec and Bülent Ecevit Boulevards, which run parallel to the east-west direction, are the three important arteries that provide movement in the city. The project area is connected to the city center by the arterial Hürriyet Street and its continuation Türkgücü Village Road, which intersects with all three boulevards in the north-south direction.

According to the zoning plans prepared in the region, two more boulevards in the south were foreseen in parallel with the existing three boulevards. One of these is the Selçuklu Boulevard, which is planned in the south in parallel with Cumhuriyet Boulevard, which starts from the industry in the west and extends in the southwest direction and divides the project area into two regions. Due to the planned axis of Cumhuriyet Boulevard dividing the area into two, disrupting the spatial integrity construct, the risky nature of the construction of many boulevards one after the other, and the planning of the last arterial Selçuklu street in the south, which can gain a threshold identity, the section of Cumhuriyet Boulevard passing through the project area is canceled and connected to the Selçuklu Street axis. seen.

Integration status with environmental development plans

In the project area consisting of a southeast-southwest oriented border; Considering the necessities of being a neighborhood citizen, a planning model has been developed that consists of a square in the center and residential areas around a main pedestrian axis that provides direct access to the square from the northernmost part of the area to the southernmost part in order to maximize encounters. In this approach, the trio of socialization-communication-sheltering, which is one of the principles of being a neighborhood person, is reflected as a square-pedestrian axis-housing in the urban exterior, and it is foreseen to support communication with shopping and commercial units. It is possible to see the traces of public life, which is highly valued in the developed planning approach, in the designed city square, in the event squares supporting the main square, and in the shopping setup on the street. This coincidence is further strengthened by the Marketplace scenario, which is easily connected to the area with the pedestrian axis and also has access to the residential areas via pedestrian hangers. Pedestrian access is also supported by densely controlled vehicle routes within a pedestrian priority traffic model. It also responds to today's romanticism and the dreams of the citizens by referring to the traditional agricultural areas built in the project area.

The project area is located within the residential areas of development in the Çorlu spatial development plans, and as a result of the spatial organization and setup, the square, pedestrian area, pedestrian axis, bicycle paths and large integrated parking areas, agricultural area-market place scenario, both in terms of spatial competence and in itself. It also serves the surrounding residential areas.

The architectural structure foreseen in the project, on the other hand, will refer to today's residential architecture instead of taking reference from the traditional, and will present a neighborhood scenario suitable for today's users by creating a synthesis with the urban outdoor setting and the traditional social life to be referred to.

A revision zoning plan draft was also prepared for the project area, with the motto that "neighborhood is not a distorted and uncontrolled developing city part but a developing city part with a planned and spatial organization" in order for the project, which was developed based on the objectives and spatial constructs in the planning approach, to be applicable. designed accordingly. The population envisaged in the project area is an average of 2000 people, and the social and technical equipment needed by this population has been designed in the project in line with the relevant legislation.

ARCHITECTURAL REPORT

-            ARCHITECTURE AND CITY IDENTITY OF MARMARA REGION

When we look at the traditional settlements in Anatolia, climate and topography data, construction techniques, demographic structures stand out as important factors.

Traditional campuses also show similarities in terms of planning principles and spatial organization. The limitations of the construction techniques of their period and the lack of material diversity play an important role in these similarities.

The characteristics of the settlements according to the regions are observed mostly in the coming together of the houses that form the texture.  In the context of climate, dispersal or coexistence is characteristic of the settlement.

Within the scope of this competition, the Marmara Region, Tekirdağ province, which we work with, is home to examples of Ottoman civil architecture. Today, Tekirdag's old  Neighborhoods such as the Old Mosque, Orta Mosque, Ertuğrul and Yavuz are carrying this cultural texture and traditional architecture to the present day.

The prominent features of the old Tekirdag Houses are that they have a bay window. Construction techniques are wood and masonry. The exterior facades are mostly covered with horizontal wood. The spaces have been made as bright as possible with large and many windows.

The main principle in 'The Neighborhood', which we have reconstructed, is to seek answers to today's needs by grasping the essence of the heritage of knowledge transferred over the centuries and using contemporary understandings and techniques in the context of 'Meaning' rather than trying to establish a context by imitating the 'Formal' features of traditional settlements in terms of urbanism and architecture.

-            PUBLIC, SEMI-PUBLIC, PRIVATE AREA RELATIONS

In the project, the creation of ALT NEIGHBORHOOD KUMELERI was taken as a basis in bringing together the residential blocks.  These subsets strengthen the NEIGHBORHOOD unit, increase the belonging of each individual in the campus to their own subgroup, and ensure that they own the area they are in.  Social facilities were provided in each cluster.  The FOCUS POINT on the next scale of all these clusters is the SQUARE, which users can reach at an equal distance from every location of the plot. Square, market, greengrocer, restaurant, cafe, etc. BARGAIN circles that provide services that users can supply within the campus without using a car.  . Making the Housing Composition in the order of sub-clusters brought together the hierarchy of green space.  Residential Common Courtyards and public greens  Shared green terraces  It is aimed to use green in different sizes and uses that reach the target.

​

-            COMPOSITION / MASS TECTONICS

While the blocks are arranged adjacent to form a courtyard, they are also designed to be disconnected to allow two-way access to the courtyard. Each block type has different floor heights within itself.  The common use terraces on the roofs are crossed with a semi-shade element and the integrity between the masses has been tried to be constructed. It has a mobile building mass with protrusions and retreats on the façade. All blocks are designed to be adjacent to each other. Thus, block groups with different diversity can be created from 4 types of blocks.

-            STRUCTURE

​

Tunnel Formwork System was used throughout the project considering the ease of construction and economy. Although the tunnel formwork system brings an important practicality, we see that the repetition of the system causes the formation of uniform housing blocks in projects of this scale. Such negative effects have been eliminated by the proposed opening diversity on the facades, the terrace pergolas on the last floors and the differences in the block heights.

​

-            FRONT

Building facades are handled as plainly as possible, taking into account factors such as the reality of application, construction techniques and cost.  Materials such as wood and bricks from traditional architecture, architectural elements such as bay windows and blinds were used as references.

​

-            HOUSING TYPOLOGY

While planning the residence, the lifestyle of our people was taken into consideration, and the main living area was designed to ensure the privacy of the bedrooms.  The two circle typology around the central core allows the intermediate circles to receive light from 2 directions. The apartments at the beginning of the blocks look at 3 directions and benefit from maximum light and view. Due to the adjacent block structure with a central block, housing types rich in plan diversity have been created, including intermediate flats, ground floor and roof flats, corner and head-of-block flats within the same block. There are a total of 567 flats in the project, of which 284 are 3+1, 241 are 2+1 and 42 are 1+1 on the terrace floors.

-         ECOLOGICAL – SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE

Natural Ventilation: Mass tectonics consisting of different floor heights of the blocks and fragmented courtyard  settlement setup allows the prevailing wind to reach every area of the campus.

Thanks to its front-to-back positioning in residential units, it allows airflow to occur from both directions.

Solar control: The back and forth movement of the facades prevents the increase of shadow surfaces and overheating of the facades. It is tried to be protected from the negative effects of sun rays with sun shading panels.

Use of Solar Energy: It is thought to meet the hot water needs of the houses with solar energy panels placed on the roof. Again, it is recommended to illuminate the common areas with photovoltaic panels that are planned to be positioned on the roof.

Saving on water:  Rainwater collected from terrace roofs is collected in cisterns under each courtyard to be used for garden irrigation. Care was taken to select the selected plants from those that are suitable for the flora of the region and that require less water. It is recommended to use water-saving sanitary ware inside the houses.

Green Roofs: Roofs of residential blocks, independent commercial units and social facilities are considered to be green roofs in terms of thermal insulation and energy efficiency.

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE REPORT

​

Outdoor Uses

Neighborhood is a neighborhood unit, a living space, which is related to the city in terms of scale, but which can meet its own needs and hosts many people. The fact that it offers a comfortable living environment to its residents at different times of the day is one of the factors that increase livability. Socializing, doing sports, appealing to user groups of all ages, being able to offer cultural, artistic and educational services as well as recreational uses are factors that will enrich the neighborhood life. 

For this purpose, in the designed neighborhood, in addition to sports fields and children's playgrounds, park areas that can host outdoor activities and spend recreational time have been created. It offers recreational activity areas to users of all ages with its landscape design integrated with architecture, open landscape areas that have the feeling of semi-closedness created by courtyard structures.

The pedestrian axis, which forms the main backbone of the project, is associated with the residential areas and creates active areas of use at different times of the day with the commercial units. The mosque, located in the middle of this axis, which forms the main pedestrian structure, defines the mosque square with its quality of being an accessible center. In addition, social structures such as the Public Education and Culture Center located on the pedestrian axis are also associated with their own squares and can host outdoor activities.

Ecological Approaches

It is important that the neighborhood, which is discussed in the competition, is associated with functions such as social life, commerce and education, as well as with ecology. It is supported by ecological decisions that this area, which will accommodate a certain population, both responds to its own needs and contributes to a sustainable environment. In line with these features, the landscape design, which is considered at the neighborhood scale, also comes to the fore with its effect on the urban landscape.

The Energy Transmission Line, one of the artificial boundaries of the project area, requires avoiding intense active use of the landscape areas that the line passes over. However, the contribution of the area to the neighborhood texture is only possible if the planting and harvesting areas included in this section serve urban agriculture.  This creates an attraction area for the residents of the neighborhood as well as for the residents of the city, and provides an economic contribution as well as its ecological values.

The plant species to be chosen throughout the landscape design are important in terms of creating the character of the residential area as well as these agricultural areas. The fact that the district is located between the Black Sea and the Marmara Seas causes it to be under different climatic effects. For this reason, it is necessary to create a vegetative texture suitable for both northern cold and humid-warm climates coming from the south.

The plants to be placed in a newly constructed area need to consider their reflections on the urban landscape at the upper scale, as well as forming the plant texture of the neighborhood. Preferring endemic species will be a positive decision in terms of the continuity and harmony of the plant tissue. At this stage, the inclusion of plants such as wheat and sunflower that will keep the general texture of the district alive, especially in areas associated with agriculture, will contribute to the continuity of the landscape texture. For tall trees, it will be appropriate to use species that are suitable for both climatic conditions and increase the comfort level of users by creating shade in recreation areas, such as oak (Quercus spp.), sycamore (Platanus spp.), ash (Fraxinus spp.).

Throughout the project, plants that will create a shady area by making a wide canopy, especially in open-air activity areas, have been considered, however, a vegetative texture has been created that will provide continuity along the main pedestrian axes, taking into account the guiding effects of vegetative elements.

In order to support ecological decisions, rain water collected by surface flow is thought to contribute to the irrigation of plants. In the structural landscape design, it is aimed to create a permeable texture with the use of nature-friendly flooring materials and to meet the rain water with the soil. For this purpose, it was given to natural stone materials, and the use of porous asphalt/concrete on surfaces such as asphalt and concrete was considered.

Access - Transportation Decisions

One of the main elements in the integration of the neighborhood with the city is the public transportation connection. In landscape decisions, these connections are made possible by the main vehicle roads that interact with the outer wall of the area. The main backbone of the neighborhood pattern is pedestrian access and a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood pattern comes to the fore. Being a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood, it offers a safe area with its environment-friendly transportation approach as well as being free from vehicle traffic.

In a design approach where pedestrian access is such a priority, providing disabled access is of great importance. A pedestrian spine, free from physical obstacles, has been designed within the neighborhood texture, and the walking paths have been created with appropriate slopes and ramps so that they are accessible to everyone.

In addition, the use of bicycles as an environmentally friendly means of transportation is encouraged. For this purpose, the bicycle path designed in accordance with the standards has also been solved as a part of the transportation network.