haghi sophia - santa sofia

7/27/2019 Haghi Sophia - Santa Sofia

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The proposal to rehabilitate the old housesaround Soguk < ; e ~ m e Street and theSogukkuyu madrasa in Istanbul by adaptingthem for tourist use was approved in principle by the Council of Monuments andSites in 1977. 1 Rehabilitation solutions wererequired to be in harmony with the environment and to incorporate a series ofcareful decisions regarding every aspect ofthe scheme, from the characteristics of thebuildings themselves to the anticipatedtransportation system. It was decided thatthe area would be restricted to publicinstitutions; any property that was notalready vakf-owned would be nationalized.It was decided to keep the study ratherbroad before attempting to agree on specificphysical solutions. This necessitated acomprehensive evaluation of the archeological, spatial and functional characteristics ofthe area, including a general survey andinventory of the buildings and their utilization, transportation and infrastructuresystems and other connections with the restof the city. This constituted the first phase ofthe study; the principles of future development could be determined from these data.Along with the general study of Soguk< ; e ~ m e Street and the area west of Sta.Sophia, including Sogukkuyu madrasa,other surveys providing more detailedinformation on historical, architectural andarcheological data and on ownership anduse were compiled. Both surveys were thenanalyzed to form the framework for thepreservation and adaptive reuse solutions wehoped to develop. Clearly, the next step forboth the Ministry and the University is todevelop a more comprehensive programmein Istanbul, one that will include not onlyplans for construction and design but alsomodels for operation and organizationwhich allow a realistic implementation.Soguk < ; e ~ m e is a street completely isolatedfrom the other residential areas of Istanbul.I t is a poor area, crowded and overshadowed by w a r e h o u ~ e s and workshops. Itssocial structure has changed radically inrecent years, though a few wooden housesstill stand in defiance of encroachingindustry. They constitute some of the few

A Plan for Istanbul'sSultanahmet-Ayasofya AreaNezih EidemMelih KamilAtilla Yucel

General layout of Sultanahmet- Ayasofya rehabilitation areaPlan- N. Eidem. et al

remaining examples of traditional domesticarchitecture in the city. Despite the ravagesof time and industrialization, the unity of atypical Istanbul street may still be observedhere.Different cultures and civilizations cometogether in Sultanahmet. It has always been

an area where the most significant institutions, monuments and symbols were located.Soguk < ; e ~ m e Street and the Soguk < ; e ~ m emadrasa complex unite to form a smallblock within an area containing a considerable portion of Istanbul's historical andarchitectural heritage. The most significant


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A Plan for Istanbul's Sultanahmet-Ayasofya Area 54

Volumetric study model o f the site around Sta SophiaPhoto Birol and Pehlivano'i)u, Fotograf Atolyes i

monumental buildings are all in this area:museums, palaces, temples, wells, the citywalls-and the tourist traffic is heavy as aresult. The street containing Sogukkuyumadrasa performs a similar function-allthe buildings, aside from a few poor orunsuitable houses, have touristic appeal andprovide tourist accommodations. Our conservation and development project plans toencourage these uses, while preserving theoriginal architectural space.Soguk < ; : e ~ m e Street is located between theImperial Gate (Bab-i Hiimayun) and theParade Pavilion (Alay K o ~ k i i ) where theTopkapl Palace walls follow a straight lineThe houses form a single row of very narrowlots opposite the palace wall. The streetlooks like an open-ended passageway, withthe houses forming one side and the highwindowless wall of the Sta. Sophia publickitchen the other.Since tourist accommodations constitute anocturnal use for this neighbourhood, wemust also provide a daytime use to en-

courage complete integration into thesurroundings. The buildings of the Sta.Sophia complex that form the windowlessside of the street and the spaces betweenthem are in particular need of efficient reuse;the same can be said about the excavationarea between Sta. Eirene and the palacewalls. One possibility for adaptive reusewould be to employ the open space betweenSta. Sophia and its buttresses, the publickitchen, the Baptistry, and other surrounding walls and buildings, as open and closedexhibition areas for modern art. This wouldserve to juxtapose the contemporary worldwith the Roman, Christian and Muslimworlds whose presence is so apparent in thearchitectural surroundings. The two handsome doors that connect these open spacesto Soguk < ; : e ~ m e Street would also acquire asuitable contemporary function: betweenthese portals and in front of the blank wallthat borders one side of the street, art showscould take place. A third door connects theproposed exhibition area to the garden ofSta. Sophia, which is now desolate and

empty. It could easily be turned into abeautiful garden arranged as an archeological park, and the portals, now closed, wouldbe returned to their original function.One characteristic of an old Istanbul street isstill amply visible in the Sultanahmet area:while religious, cultural and public buildingswere monuments of stone and lead symbolizing permanence and eternity, privatehouses were almost invariably small andwooden. In the renovation project, caremust be taken to maintain this relative scale.While some unsafe buildings should indeedbe cleared from the area, additions to theremaining old buildings must be few.Renovations should be limited to thosenecessary for turning these old woodenhouses into accommodations suitable fortourists. Special common spaces that are lessvisible from the street will be created onsome of the suitable lower floors and in theold cisterns Only minimal new constructionis planned.The madrasa complex will be adapted into ahostel. A feeling of open space will beformed by small plazas between the buildingblocks, repeating the pattern of the innercourt. The units will be designed to give thefeeling of a private house, with enclosed andinward-looking ground floors, and livingareas around small courtyards orientedaway from the street. In this way, culturaland environmental continuity can be established in the new conservation project.Functional suitability, rather than directstylistic imitation, is to be stressed in anynew construction.Integration of the proposed Sultanahmetrehabilitation with the planimetric characteristics of the existing environmentalpatterns is imperative. The problem is toorganize this important historical area usingan approach that is realistic and not speculative. We believe that the creation of alivable environment and the preservation ofcultural and historical values are notcontradictory or mutually exclusive demands. On the contrary, they are bothprerequisites to making a city meaningful,and the importance of both is sufficientimpetus for our efforts at Sultanahmet.


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55 A Plan for Istanbul's Sultanahmet-Ayasofya Area

Entrance to Soguk yefme Street, with a gate to the Ayasofya complexPhoto: N EIdem, et al

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Reference Note

I The study presented here was initiated by theIstanbul Technical University's Faculty of Architectureand sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism and Informa-tion The Ministry directed the University to developconservation and rehabilitation plans for the Sultanah-met Plaza and S o ~ u k < ; : e ~ m e Street The idea of rehabili-tating this historic area, by giving it new functions relatedto the tourist industry and to other cultural activitiesappropriate to its importance, has long been a projectencouraged by the Ministry The ITU faculty working onthe project have been involved for several years in similarprojects aimed at retaining the area's historical andarchitectural unity With the aid of architectural designstudents, ideas are being transformed into practice usingthe accumulated data and experience gained from theseearlier projects The University received the Sultanahmetcommission from the Ministry in 1977

Soguk yefme Street-view of the actual situation (above), and the elevation oj proposed reuse project (below)Drawing by N EIdem, et al


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A Plan fo r Istanbul's Sultanahmet-Ayasofya Area 56

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haghi sophia - santa sofia

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