FLOATING LIBRARY ISTANBUL | Istanbul | Unit 21 |  2011

Istanbul, an ‘archipelago of neighbourhoods’ is a city within which the East and West straddle amongst each other, ‘like memories plucked from dreams’. I propose a building in the water, where the density of the city disappears, within the marriage of the civilizations inhabiting the two banks of the strait. Concentrating on the Islamic tradi- tion and culture, I designed a floating library for women and children, enabling all neighborhoods to participate in the cultural event. In modern Istanbul the Library celebrates the need of women for social encounter outside of the household. This proposal investigates daylight screening as an intelligent dialogue between historic and contemporary architectures, and technologies. The journey though the Library, exploring the different shadows unifying or isolating spaces, hinges on the national cultural setting of Istanbul.

Tutors: Abigail Ashton, Andrew Porter