Izmir is a rapidly growing port city on the Gulf of Izmir in
western Turkey. As its country's largest city on the Aegean Sea,
Izmir found itself with a list of infrastructure needs and urban
development concepts that needed to be translated into a vision
for the city in this new century. Political leadership needed this
vision to communicate to citizens the importance of an integrated
plan.
Having just recently completed a mass transit system in Izmir, designed
and built by the premier Turkish design/build firm of Yapi Merkezi,
the city asked Koksal Anadol, Yapi Merkezi's architectural director,
to help bring in urban design and architectural expertise capable
of acting quickly on this need. I was fortunate to have worked closely
with Koksal on a number of architectural and urban design projects
in Turkey, including the conceptual design of the Izmir Metro, and
was delighted to be asked to work with city leadership and help
give vision to their concepts for the future of Izmir.
Turning Ideas into Visions
   
Figure 1: A combination submerged tunnel and cable-stay bridges
that create a gateway to the city are shown. (Click on each
thumbnail) |
After studying the city and conducting field visits, we considered
and defined physical planning notions for a variety of infrastructure
improvements, quickly translating the idea into sketch form to help
Izmir's citizens understand the contextual enhancements that could
result from implementing individual changes as part of a master
vision. When we informed city leadership that this intense quick
level of work is often defined using a "charrette1,"
the mayor reached for a document high on his bookcase to retrieve
a master plan for Izmir prepared by Le Corbusier in 1930. The idea
of a charrette has been around for a while.
Some of the many sketches we produced showed what changes could
take place at key locales, including those described below.
  
Figure 2: These sketches of Izmir's waterfront help people to
understand the contextual enhancements that result. (Click on
each thumbnail) |
Bay Crossing. Population growth and future transportation
demand will require a bridge and/or tunnel across the neck of Izmir
Bay. We examined and sketched a combination submerged tunnel and
cable-stay bridges that created a gateway to the city (Figure 1).
The bridge-to-tunnel transition island is a unique development opportunity
that could further reinforce Izmir's regional role as an urban center
and gateway to Ephesus by taking on a beckoning lighthouse image.
Widened Waterfront Promenade. Historically, Izmir has celebrated
the waterfront with a pedestrian promenade and urban street along
the water edge. This cornish has been neglected in recent periods.
Enhanced pedestrian activity coupled with utility needs, such as
sewer and stormwater improvements, and the city's desire to accommodate
more people resulted in our concept for a widened waterfront promenade
that includes provisions for a surface light rail line that connects
urban activities along the water edge (Figure 2).
  
Figure 3: These sketches show conceptual notions possible by
redeveloping the old port into a water's edge mixed-use activity
center with cruise ship accommodations. (Click on each thumbnail) |
Redeveloped Port. The switch to containerized cargo and
pressing urbanization has resulted in the relocation of Izmir port.
Our sketches showed contextual notions possible through redevelopment
of the old port into a water's edge mixed-use activity center with
cruise ship accommodations (Figure 3).
Food for Thought
Izmir's leaders recognize that a successful port is a reflection
of an active vibrant city that must be both functionally efficient
and a desirable place for people to live. The ideas brought forth
in this vision charrette will likely never be implemented as we
drew them. The ideas are but seeds that, if planned for and developed
with a passion for function and livability, might germinate to help
Izmir maintain and enhance its role as Turkey's major Aegean port.
|
