Isometric map of sultans trail
INFORMATION

Published: 2023

/ Student Work

Water, heritage, and Arcadian everyday life

A wildly speculative urban project has been on the agenda of wild politicians since 2011: the Istanbul Canal project. The construction of the canal’s supporting infrastructure and commercial development is becoming a nightmare for the local ecology: the Sazlidere Reservoir Dam, one of Istanbul’s most reliable water sources, will be rendered inoperable as a result of the development of the canal. In support of opponents of the Istanbul Canal project and as a response to global climate change issues, the design is based on an eco-friendly hiking trail across the Black Sea and the Marmara Sea, “the Sultan Trail,” which will help reorganize and reactivate the architecture, farmland, pastures, forests, natural villages, and historical sites in the Sazlidere Basin, as well as the final defense of the impending destruction of them. As an alternative to the Canal Project, along the river valley, it replaces the destructive development of this basin. The walking theme is defined as an act of celebration/pilgrimage to an unspoiled landscape, a ritual pilgrimage to an idyllic pastoral.

STUDENTS

Quan Li and Chengqian Chen

FACULTY

El Hadi Jazairy