Foster + Partners has developed a masterplan with Türkiye Design Council to accelerate Turkey’s recovery from a devastating earthquake, while honouring the city’s ancient heritage and capitalising on opportunities to give it a more resilient and environmentally-friendly future.
On February 6th, 2023, the Hatay region of Turkey was devastated by an earthquake that killed more than 50,000 in Turkey and Syria combined. Tens of thousands of buildings were destroyed or severely damaged, including hospitals, homes and schools leaving millions without shelter and basic necessities.
A consortium overseen by Türkiye Design Council, and including Foster + Partners, Buro Happold, MIC-HUB, KEYM and DB Architecture, has developed the Antakya Masterplan, a roadmap for recovery that addresses the community’s immediate immediate needs alongside longer-term objectives, such as improved infrastructure, climate resilience, heritage conservation and economic growth.
The masterplan responds to its Antakya’s unique heritage, restoring archaeological and historic sites such as the Uzun Bazaar, churches, mosques, bathhouses, and synagogues. It also responds to the city’s natural geography, prioritising areas that are not located in floodplains and are suitable for rebuilding.
A new mixed-use corridor along a major road in the centre of Antakya integrates water-suitable land uses, and the rehabilitation of streams and rivers will create enhanced green buffers, mitigating flood risk with natural barriers. Meanwhile, vehicles are rerouted to main roads in order to reclaim streets and plazas for pedestrians.
Plazas double as emergency gathering places in case of disaster, with areas designated for emergency hospitals with access to water and energy resources. Alleyways are connected to form a slow movement network of green way-finding routes which will ensuring unimpeded access to each district’s resilient public spaces/safe gathering points in the event of another earthquake.
The Hatay masterplan drew on learning from post-disaster recovery precedents from across the world, including Christchurch in New Zealand. This resulted in a set of design principles, most importantly that the new city should look to echo the pre-disaster urban fabric in order to give residents a sense of familiarity and belonging.
Elements of urban memory from before the earthquake have been incorporated into the design through a community engagement process led by Türkiye Design Council and its Hatay Design and Planning Collaboration Group. The city’s unique characteristics – from street layouts to distinctive smells – have been preserved in a bid to ensure that residents don’t feel disconnected from their city as its modernised and rebuilt. The repair and restoration of landmarks is being carried out in consultation with the community, in deference to their crucial role in collective memory-making. The first phase of new buildings will include common areas designed to revitalise neighbourhood relationships, creating opportunities for residents to reconnect and re-establish their daily routines.
Furkan Demirci is the Chairperson of the Türkiye Design Council
Source: Architecture Today
