Istanbul: The city as an urban palimpsest

Abstract

The metropolitan cities of the world continue to grow rapidly with their dynamic, mostly chaotic features that perpetually contain randomness, notwithstanding their specific differences. These inevitably constantly changing and transforming cities are shaped together with their permanent inhabitants and produce new urban spaces. In this regard, Istanbul has always been a laboratory for architectural applications, research and education rightfully due the numerous potentials it embodies. In this context, informal trainings and activities carried out outside the programs in architectural schools are increasingly becoming more important, and Istanbul is used as an instrument for these studies. From this point of view, so as to contribute to the discussions on the palimpsest character of Istanbul and to provoke post-graduate students and young architects to question the multi-layered state of the city, ‘Culture and Space’ Network has been organizing paper selections in Turkey for eight years. This current article reviews and analyzes a selected group of awarded papers from the paper selections in order to explore the concept of ‘urban palimpsest’, to read and understand the multi-layered and palimpsest structure of Istanbul from their perspectives, and to highlight their interpretations.