Walking and thinking about Istanbul During autumn 2018, AURA-İstanbul research based studio, hosted fifteen participants from different backgrounds. The studio’s main research axis was based on walking. In recent year, walking as a methodology for urban studies gained a strong recognition and popularity. Common urban researches, based on statistical data and maps, are reducing the figure of the urbanity to some borders and colors. Unfortunately, data is genuinely quite open to mathematical distortion. Walking, as a horizontal approach, offers a different perception. Effectively, the urban condition’s complexity can’t match administrative limits or colored urban districts. The experience of walking through the urban reveals a multiplicity of complex layers, inherent to the place: ‘’the genius loci’’. Smells, topography, shadows, skyline, content of trash containers, informal talks with neighborhood users and landscapes are interconnecting to reveal a new portrait: Interdependencies and fragile equilibriums hosted in the entity. The students’ projects are representative of all the contemporary questions and challenges faced by the megapolis of the Bosphorus. Beyond walking, the studio’s guidelines were based on a process-led approach rather than a result-led one. This method permitted the wide scope of answers to the contemporary urban condition. In Istanbul, architecture has been, for decades, restrained to a tool for real estate development. The researches developed by the students, showed a deep maturity and ability to rethink architecture as a critical thinking tool. We are happy to share with you, a preview of these works in the present booklet. In the end, we would like to present our sincere thanks to Hande Tombaz, for her support in academic improvement of all research projects, her contributions for bringing forward a complementary discussion on ‘open city’ and her assitance in the preparation process of ‘Urban Dialogues’ panel.
Sinan Logie AURA-İstanbul Autumn 2018 Studio Leader
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