Since 2005, Istanbul SMD has been encouraging students to produce "alternative projects" for the "problematic areas" of the city through the S.O.S. Istanbul Student Competition. In the intervening fourteen years, Istanbul has experienced different ruptures in urbanisation and architectural production, especially in the public sphere. This situation has radically changed the urbanites' experience and awareness of where they live. In a sense, the city has turned into a whirlpool where all its image, scale, nature and values are intertwined. It is also valuable to consider this chaotic situation with its potentials for new ideas, new productions and new beginnings.
