"Alternative Proposals for Istanbul"
Since 2005, IstanbulSMD has been encouraging students to produce "alternative projects" for the city's "problematic areas" through the S.O.S. Istanbul. Over the past fourteen years, there have been various shifts in urbanization and architectural production in Istanbul, particularly in the realm of public space. This has fundamentally altered residents' experiences and awareness of their living environment. The city has become a vortex where all its images, scales, nature, and values intertwine. Reflecting on this chaotic situation with its potentials for new ideas, new productions, and new beginnings is valuable.
This year, the S.O.S. Istanbul Student Competition expects students to analyze their thoughts on the city, whether addressing major and complex problems or situations that may seem peripheral but deeply impact daily life, regardless of scale. The competition will explore tensions between megacities, metropolises, and cities, as well as the unfolding identities of urban and citizen identities, ancient city-metropolis dynamics, debates surrounding boundaries, time, space, and place, and definitions of ownership and belonging. The design research is expected to conclude with a new proposal framed within its own problematic.
OBJECTIVE AND THEME OF THE COMPETITION
Considering a new era where cities are shaped not only by decisions made by local governments but also by participatory initiatives of citizens, we can argue that there is a need for "alternative projects" and ideas that encompass ordinary solutions involving corner options rather than the city being blocked by large programs. Emphasized here is the understanding that the impact achieved by multiplying small interventions is not less valuable than that of large interventions.
Large projects are always more widely debated in the public eye, but the city and daily life also need new dreams, common ground, and creative scenarios. Instead of seeing Istanbul as an endless tangle of problems, it is the goal of the S.O.S. Istanbul 2019 competition to reveal its undiscovered strengths and propose solutions that will enrich the city.
Therefore, the S.O.S. Istanbul Student Competition 2019, which will be held in two stages this year, does not have a predefined location, subject, or problem description. Beyond memorized phrases and slogans, it is imperative to intervene in life, to activate rusty and battered gears, or to create new ones, and to stand behind one's words. The primary expectation is the ability to evaluate the city's daily life with a design researcher's perspective and to generate objective design solutions that will improve it.
AWARDS
Following the competition, the top five participants will be awarded a special prize by Dalsan Plaster Industry and Trade Inc.: a "Zeugma Ancient City Tour." This prize will be awarded starting from the winning group of the first prize, proceeding sequentially to the next four participants deemed worthy of the award, in case the awardees are part of teams.