Maximizing - Transition: Youth and Cultural Hub

Youth and Cultural Hub is among the SGK Blocks in Konak district, the city center of Izmir. With The Clock Tower, the symbol of the city, and The Opera and Ballet House, the location offers the opportunity to strengthen the cultural memory of the region. The design proposes buildings with three different functions, in which some of the existing SGK blocks were demolished and the existing Cinar cinema was transformed along Cumhuriyet Street.

SGK blocks form a wall in the site. It restricts the access of two important streets (Milli Kütüphane Street and Cumhuriyet Street) on the ground floor. The idea is that the area is evacuated and open to the public, and the circulation of the two streets is strengthened.

My proposal involves demolishing some of the SGK blocks on the site and thus allowing them to take over the square. Instead of demolished areas, the youth and culture center offers environments where young people can develop themselves with creativity space, a sitting area of ​​the city with the library and a transformed performance center, and spaces where young people or professional actors can take the stage. The design functions in the union of the main street and the zones divided, while at the same time providing the user with the uninterrupted passage. In this pass, the user can watch and experience the cultural activities of the city on the roads they pass.

A result is a form that refers to the cultural memory of Izmir and allows formations to contribute to this memory.