The urban revitalization of Antakya, Hatay, begins
On the second anniversary of the earthquake of Turkey Syria 2023, the efforts, the destroyed region of Hatay in the southeast of turkey Are good. Antakya, one of the most important cities in antiquity (Antioch), was one of the toughest areas, over 80% of which were destroyed and over 20,000 lives. According to this tragedy, the Türkiye Design Council led a revitalization effort by design and merged with an international and regional consortium of architects, engineers and NGO managers as well as with decisive affected people in the local communities to form a future to form a future, To form a future, this is both resistant and deeply the history of the city. “Antakya was destroyed and rebuilt seven times in his long story by Hatay.” Furkan Demirci, chairman of the Türkiye Design Council, shares during our visit to the city. “His resistance is embedded in his DNA, and now we are building it up again with new memories, new stories that honor the deeply rooted cultural history of the city.”
Foster + Partner ' Master plan for Antakya extends over 30 square kilometers and follows an approach that includes both the restoration and the modern urban design principles and that remains thoroughly sensitive to the tragic effects on the landscape and urban landscape and its communities. The British company outlined eight Main design principles last year This best embodies this and takes into account the need to build on a safe country, to improve circulation and open spaces, to create new districts, to layer neighborhoods and to improve and reduce connectivity between them.
All images with the kind permission of Foster + partners, unless otherwise stated
Foster + partner leads master plan
In cooperation with Turkish practices DB Architects and Keym Renewal Center, the master plan was developed next to Buro Happold and Mic-Hub to maintain the preliminary spirit of the city's scale and configurations. While the sheer destruction was a logistical challenge, it also offered the Türkiye Design Council and Foster + Partners the opportunity to rethink the image and infrastructure of the city to ensure sustainability – socially and economically – without affecting its identity .
One of the first material steps in this process was the establishment of a community center to the human -centered approach of regeneration plan. This room, a group of modular, prefabricated units, serves today as a Türkiye Design Council of the Council campus And Community Center – a focus on his recovery efforts, in which the residents were invited to deal with renovation plans. Over 40 meetings took place here with these communities NGOs and professional stakeholders to ensure transparency and to convey a feeling of the owners in the future of the city. Furkan Demirci reflects the meaning of this: “If you lose everything – your home, your family, your job – the process of designing and discussion, what the future city should look like, becomes an act of healing. There are human agencies, there is hope. '
Image with the kind permission of the Türkiye Design Council
Guarantee of social, ecological and economic sustainability
For Furkan Demirci, the central plan is a commitment to preserve Antkya's unique historical and cultural structure. The city, which is described as the mosaic of archaeological and religious heritage, will refer considerable restoration efforts to places such as Uzun Bazi, old bathrooms, churches, mosques and synagogues. The plans not only protect these landmarks, but also restored them as the key elements of the cityscape. A protective plan for 307 hectares of the historical city center was developed in consultation with local scientists and the Ministry of Culture to ensure that the past remains an integral part of his future.
Apart from the initiative of cultural preservation, the master plan priorates climate silence and catastrophic urban planning. In view of the location of Antakya along the ASI river, the division of the city into old and new flood strategies are of central importance for renovation. Public rooms have been significantly expanded – green spaces in the whole city have grown from 136,000 square meters to 778,000 square meters, while educational and health facilities were also recorded considerable capacity increases. The inclusion of pedestrian streets and new bicycle traces continues to reflect a focus on viability and accessibility.
Foster + Partner leads the master plan vision for the urban revival of Antakya, Hatay
In addition, the construction is now in important districts, including the historical city center and the surrounding areas of Defne, İskenderun, Kırıkhan and Samandağ. The number of residential and commercial units was received within a 50-hectare pilot area, while the public space in addition to Green Spaces and essential infrastructure presented a new concert hall, library and theater. This is matched by the Türkiye Design Council and the more comprehensive vision of the urban sustainability of Foster + Partners, and takes into account the same integration of ecological, social and economic factors.
Developed in collaboration with Buro Happold, MIC-HUB, DB Architects and Keym Urban Renewal Center
The proposal extends over an area of 30 square kilometers of the Capital District of the province of Hatay