LOCATION, DATE AND CITY

Due to its exceptional location, Şanlıurfa is located in the center of the ancient geography where middle eastern civilizations were born and spread to the world. Therefore, over the years, cultural interaction has been an important means of transportation for Şanlıurfa civilizations.

Şanlıurfa has developed on the north-south axis, therefore Atatürk Boulevard has become the most important main artery. This axis starts from the Urfa Castle in the south and extends to the newly developed urban areas in the north. Located on this route, Sarayönü Square physically connects two different historical and morphological parts of the city.

HIGH-SCALE APPROACH STRATEGIES

-Urban Interface

Sarayönü square is in a position to reflect/connect two different historical references, remaining at the interface of old and new urban textures.

-Green Integration

The Karakoyun Stream, which runs through the north of the square, is a potential recreation area and forms a stronger green space by being articulated with a public part of the city such as the square.

-Focus

The north-south axis passing through the city center connects the historical and cultural centers of the city. Instead of crossing the edge of the square, this axis should attract those who pass through it.

MAIN APPROACH CONCEPT

-Sustainable Public Space

*In the 2016 report of the Sustainable Cities Index, the three pillars of sustainability are stated as People, Planet and Profit. SQUARE – 3P* reflects a holistic thought designed by considering social, economic and environmental sustainability, not just as an interface within the framework of this urban sustainability approach.

-Transportation and Spatial Quality Strategy

Kule Street in the north of the area was canceled and the square's influence area extended to Hacı Kamil Mansion. The shops in this area and the İpek Palas Hotel are serviced from the pedestrianized square area and from the docking/waiting pocket on Atatürk Boulevard. With the pedestrianization of Kule Street, a new potential area has emerged between the mansion, hotel and the square: Gastro Square (people/sociocultural development)

Tower street was combined with 882nd street and traffic flow was streamlined. After the tower street was canceled along the creek and traffic started from the newly proposed street in the southeast of the square, the Karakoyun stream and the recreation area were seamlessly integrated with the square and brought a new green potential area to the city: Green Amphitheater (planetary/environmental development)

The entire square and hard ground texture has been made pedestrian-friendly by slowing down the vehicle path up to the commercial areas on the western wing of Atatürk Boulevard, and the operability of the square has been increased throughout its area of ​​influence: Active Square (profit / economic development)

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR zoning and expropriation

The square should cease to be an autonomous area, the boundaries of which are determined by paving stones, and should extend to the physical urban walls or thresholds that limit the space.

The square turns into a pedestrianized urban interface with slowed roads and integrated green space. The interaction area also includes a buffer area that feeds the square and is intertwined with it.

The area is divided into zones with three different main functions. Likewise, this scheme can be used in staging.

MORPHOLOGICAL APPROACH

The square was designed with a combination of hard and soft floors, but in line with a defined system. The surfaces, which are divided into modules with 8-meter cold joint gaps, are a manifestation of the texture created by the fields in the same Harran plain in harmony with each other. This gridal morpho-pattern delimits and aligns the various urban objects in the square and the spaces for various activities to take place.

URBAN DESIGN DECISIONS

The square is surrounded by Hacı Kamil Mansion and adjoining commercial shops and arcades in the north. On the west, there are commercial areas on the ground floor, on Atatürk Boulevard. The Kapaklı/Japanese passages in the south are also areas where trade is concentrated. The area of ​​the square facing these commercial areas is integrated with the hard floor covering determined by the morphological texture work up to the facade line of the commercial areas. The main purpose here is to enable the square and its user to perform the trade function more comfortably in terms of perception and psychology. In fact, all these commercial areas that do not exist in the square are potentials that have become an element of the square.

While the Karakoyun creek and the linear recreation area around it in the northeast were previously interrupted by Kule Street and could not be integrated with the square, with the inclusion of this street in the project area, the green area extends to the square and turns into a new recreation area.

Again, with the joining of the northern wing of the Kule street with the square, an area with the İpek Palas Hotel on one side and Hacı Kamil Mansion and commercial buildings was defined on the other. It is envisaged that this area, which is in the middle of potential commercial areas, will be used mostly in the field of gastronomy, and it is recommended to position food and beverage places on the ground floor of the existing construction surrounding the area.

CULTURE AND URBAN CATALYST

In the middle of the square areas suitable for three different function and development models (economic, environmental, social) there is an alternative but special-functional urban catalyst on the lower level, which unites the entire square and provides cultural and social information exchange: KARUM*

*Karum, which means port and dock in Assyrian language, is the trade center established next to the city. Karums were established in Anatolia during the time of Assyrian trade colonies. Karums in Anatolia are smaller settlements than those in Mesopotamia. Most important ones; In Kültepe, there are Kaneş Karum, Hattusa Karum and Alişar Karum. Karum in Sarayönü Square serves as a public community center where the citizens can exchange their cultures and meet the cultural information needs of all citizens with gastronomy workshops, exhibitions, a multi-purpose hall and a mediatheque.

OPEN AND SEMI-OPEN SPACE STRATEGIES

"SQUARE - 3P", which has three different functions, can be arranged according to different events and activities according to the season and different times of the day. A public semi-open is envisaged in the gastro square, supported by both Karum and the ground floor commercial areas around it, such as a food festival, a local market. This top cover, which is designed as demountable with a wooden insert system, allows a comfortable gastronomic experience to be shared with the citizens in the hot and dry season.

In the active square, open events can be organized mostly at night and in cool weather. The square was designed both as a commercial area, a stop/resting point and one of the main gathering areas that the city needs.

The green amphitheater, on the other hand, offers concerts, picnics, recreation and many similar functions to the citizens by integrating with the stream line. The linear recreation route ends with the last amphitheater and opens to Karum. The area where afforestation is considered especially for shading provides an active use of green space for the city together with the fertile soils of the stream.

KENT FURNITURE and INCLUSIVE DESIGN

With the alignment provided by the morphological texture, the urban furniture was matched and placed in a balanced way according to the need of the square. Urban furniture designed according to inclusive design principles that prioritize a healthy coexistence is used not only for pedestrians using the square, but also for families with children, the elderly, animal lovers and street animals.

LANDSCAPE DECISIONS

Endemic plants of Urfa and installations that will appeal to long-term use in the square were preferred. The Mediterranean palm, especially on the side of Atatürk Boulevard, has been thought to determine the location of the square even far away on this linear axis. The eastern plane tree, which is a good shading element thanks to its bushy and wide crown, was used in the recreation area.

SUGGESTIONS

Rather than limiting a public area such as a square to vehicle roads, it should be preferred to slow down the vehicle roads and make the square pedestrian-friendly up to the urban periphery. Karum, with a closed area of ​​approximately 600 m², can be considered as a more comprehensive community center, although it is designed according to the rules of the competition specifications (taks and kaks). The restoration of İpek Palas Hotel and the ground floor areas on the façade facing the Gastro square should be arranged in accordance with gastronomy activities. Thus, a different dimension will be added to the square with the gastronomic synergy that will occur in the region between Karum and the hotel. By-pass traffic, which will be made by pedestrianizing the northern wing of Kule Street in the transportation network and connecting it with 882. Street, can reorganize the traffic. With the cross-sections proposed in the project, the area will be transformed into an open-air center with fewer vehicles, more pedestrianized, not just for gathering purposes, but where time can be spent 24/7. 

CONTRIBUTORS:

Hakkı Can Özkan

Özlem Özdener Özkan

Fevzi Kurşun

Sırrı Berkay Kara

Hümeyra Karabacak

Şengül Şimşek

Şafak Özaydın