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Obstacle
Karaköy has been known as a trade and port center since Byzantine time. Due to this feature, Karaköy, which is crowded and intense, has been intensified by the traffic problem because of the road expansion works during 1950 (1). In other words, Karaköy became an even more crowded place by adding people to the crowd, and traffic problems.
There is where traffic is indispensable, and the multi-story car park turns into a single structure that has become the tenant and has no ties to its surroundings. What I was worried about in the project of converting this multi-story car park was how I could make the car park a living place. On the other hand, I thought about how to combine the density of Karaköy with parking.
1-Esmer, Mine. “1956-60 İMARI Karaköy-Beşiktaş Sahil Aksında Kaybolan/Yıkılan/Taşınan Yapılar.” Academia.edu - Share Research, www.academia.edu/27786585/1956-60_İMARI_Karaköy-Beşiktaş_Sahil_Aksında_Kaybolan_Yıkılan_Taşınan_Yapılar.
Firstly I built a courtyard in the midline of the car park. I created ramps, stairs, and elevators in this courtyard for car and people circulation. Later, I thought that the shopkeeper of Karaköy should have a place in the parking lot, so I created a ground floor market area. The most important factor to remove the parking lot outside the courtyard and the market from being a secluded building was the existence of living spaces. I created living units where people can build themselves in the area as much as a parking lot line. While these living units were on the first three floors, I tried to create a spacious space by lifting the floor above the fourth floor. There are libraries and exhibition spaces here. My purpose here was to create spaces for people staying in their living units and people coming to Karaköy to spend their time here.
I also wanted to experience this building in people who want to spend time in Karaköy, apart from the people who live in the building or who come to park their car by transforming the upper floor into public spaces. A person arriving to spend time in Karaköy may spend time in the public space without spending any money or spend time in the library and exhibition area. On the lower floor, you can go back to your home by doing the market exchange. If we think about a person living in the parking lot, if we want to do the market exchange after work, we can attend the upper floor exhibit and work in the library. I am worried that there is not only a place where vehicles are located but a place where people can live as well. In this project, I thought that Karaköy could bring that lively air to this building and I wanted people to experience the building.
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