Ok, this one’s short and sweet but quite interesting none-the-less. Here is the competition proposal by group8 for a new Istanbul Disaster Prevention + Education Center. The entry one 2nd prize.
Courtesy of OODA
The proposal is intriguing and thought provoking in what it is not, or rather, what is not there. This is readable though their analysis of iconic. The firm chose to utilize an ‘iconic absence’ rather than an iconic object. The ground is split and rent to create space below grade. Here are a litany of programmatic zones which exist in a sort of underground forum. These range from lecture halls, to auditoria, to exhibition space, and facilities, amongst other far too hard to read. But what a concept! Rather than another object, too iconic for its and our own good, a fissure that is itself iconic but… distilled, quieted, calm and serious. It’s a little like the architectural Teddy Roosevelt. Speak softly and carry a big stick. Because after all, if you walk into an iconic building, maybe all you’ll get is a bump on the forehead. If you walk into an iconic absence, you gonna break at least one bone in the fall!
Courtesy of OODA
Courtesy of Group8
