Gallipoli Memorial Sites

1st PRIZE

A multi-disciplinary design project for selected memorial sites of Gallipoli, which is one of the most important war geographies of the world. 6 of the existing sites have low-quality open space organizations as well as poor graphic and industrial design, e.g. signs and seating furnitures. The competition targets new spatial organization scenarios with new and functional graphic standards. The existing relation that the visitors established with the Gallipoli Peninsula, without considering a determined accessibility hierarchy and maybe mostly being random, eliminates the holistic perception of the Peninsula as well as the own integrity of 6 project sites and thus the opportunity of possible multilayered rich experience is made impossible. The most important indicator of this is that narrative and spatial approaches give the feeling that they are designed without listening to the voices and feeling the spirit of the place. Those interventions taking place on the same site which occurred in different times cannot talk to each other thus cannot create a sense of integrity.

 

In our view, the possibility of perceptive integrity is hidden in the concept of “Distancing”. The undefined, unclear and broken relations which we have described above, do not allow such “Distancing”, but this leads to the predominance of an exaggerated narrative in meaning of the Gallipoli Peninsula. The weakness of physical space structure results in exaggerated narrative fiction.

Location: Çanakkale
Assignment: landscape, wayfinding, industrial desin, architecture
Size: 30 Ha
Year: 2014
Status: competition-awarded
Client: Ministry of Culture
In collaboration with: Eda Ekim, Ceyda Özbilen, Ayşenaz Toker, Petek Kızılelma, Mustafa Ercan Zırh