PROJECTS
Created in close association with the local community, the masterplan unveiled by the global firm is based on eight design principles aimed at rejuvenating the area while preserving its urban character and fostering a sense of belonging for the residents.
By Arshan Hussain
23 September 2024
Foster + Partners was invited to lead a consortium of interdisciplinary companies and develop a masterplan for the earthquake-hit city of Antakya in the Hatay region of southeast Türkiye | Image Courtesy of Foster + Partners
Türkiye and Syria faced the biggest disaster in their modern histories when two devastating earthquakes leveled entire cities in the countries last year; the fateful morning of February 6th brought unprecedented destruction to the southern and central parts of Türkiye and the northern and western regions of Syria. Affecting an area about the size of Germany, the catastrophe cost more than 65,000 lives. In Türkiye alone, where urban infrastructure faced extensive damage, the earthquake affected 4 million buildings and left about 1.5 million people homeless.
Antakya in the Hatay region of southeast Türkiye was one of the cities most severely devastated, with as much as 80 percent of the city razed to the ground. Six months after the earthquakes, the Türkiye Design Council, a non-governmental organization based in Istanbul, initiated the first steps towards rebuilding efforts for the city and the wider Hatay region.
4 million buildings were affected by the earthquakes in Türkiye alone, leaving about 1.5 million people homeless | Image Courtesy of Flickr; CC BY 2.0
The council invited a consortium of interdisciplinary companies from Türkiye and abroad to share their expertise in rebuilding earthquake-hit cities in different parts of the world and ultimately contribute to rebuilding the Hatay region. The global architecture and engineering firm Foster + Partners was invited to lead the consortium and develop the masterplan for the city in association with Buro Happold, an engineering consultancy firm for seismic safety; Mobility in Chain, an international transport planning firm; and two local practices, DB Architects and KEYM Urban Renewal Centre.
“Every citizen has had long associations with some part of his city, and his image is soaked in memories and meanings,” notes American urban planner Kevin Lynch in his seminal book on urban design, The Image of the City. Foster + Partners' masterplanning approach aims to honor these associations by inviting local communities to contribute their inputs at every phase of the development; the planning process has also paid significant attention to understanding, retaining, and recreating the historical layers of the ancient Greek city of Antioch, upon which parts of modern-day Antakya are situated. As part of this effort, the firm engaged with the local communities through questionnaires and maps redrawn from their memories of the older city.
The Türkiye Design Council team during a visit to the old city of Antakya | Image Courtesy of Türkiye Design Council
Released earlier this year, the masterplan is based on a set of eight design principles that define the upcoming development in Antakya and the wider Hatay region. It seeks to provide the community with a revitalized city that evokes the essence of their former home while actively involving them in the rebuilding process.
In addition to retaining the historical layer, the principles focus on increasing the city’s resilience against natural disasters while improving accessibility and social interaction through a strengthened transport system, new public spaces, and an efficient neighborhood design. Here is a closer look at each of them:
Build on Safe Land
The city of Antakya is nurtured by the Asi river that flows through it; the immediate area around such water bodies is deemed sensitive for construction. Prior to the earthquake, however, the banks of the river were populated with rows of buildings. A study conducted by Foster + Partners revealed that these areas — home to more than 45,000 residents — were susceptible to flooding even before the earthquake, during which they faced unprecedented flooding and soil liquefaction leading to sunken buildings.
The first principle of the masterplan proposes converting these areas into protected zones and identifies new buildable lands as per projected rise in water levels. It sets down new green buffers and soft edges in the form of green riverfronts and parks to facilitate water runoff. While protecting the city from flooding, these measures will be a significant addition to urban greenery.
The Asi river edge will be transformed into green riverfronts and parks to contain flooding and facilitate water runoff | Image Courtesy of Foster + Partners
Improve Circulation
All of the city's arterial roads jut out from Cumhuriyet Meydanı, a significant city square and roundabout near the riverbank. These roads lead out in a fashion akin to Copenhagen's five-finger urban plan.
The second principle of the masterplan proposes retaining this road network while strategically adding connections between them to promote walkability. Furthermore, the square is proposed as a pedestrianized and public transport-only zone, enhancing public life and reducing the traffic load on sensitive cultural areas of the city.
Cumhuriyet Meydanı, one of the most important city squares, is proposed as a pedestrianized and public transport-only zone | Image Courtesy of Foster + Partners
Improve Open Spaces
Open green spaces function as the lungs of a city. The proposed design for the Asi river edge and road network seeks to create diverse open spaces distributed evenly throughout the city.
Focusing on social interaction, these open green spaces will dot the city in the form of new parks, nature walks, community plazas, playgrounds, and pocket parks. The resulting network aims to double the amount of green space per capita while providing habitats for local flora and fauna. The new river edge will offer the residents of Atakya the largest urban green space, with waterside retreats and riverfront parks offering views of the mountains and the old city on the other side of the river.
The city will be dotted with open green spaces in the form of a revitalized river edge, new parks, nature walks, community plazas, playgrounds, and pocket parks | Image Courtesy of Türkiye Design Council
Create New Districts
Covering an area of 30 square kilometers, the masterplan identifies thirteen new districts within Antakya, each of which is defined by the river edge, a stream, or a primary road as its perimeter. A high street with commercial and retail spaces will pierce these districts as the main spine. Building upon the principle of improved open spaces, these districts are envisioned to be replete with local parks and plazas. Each of them will also have community and social facilities at its core, serving as a reference point for the inhabitants. On a micro level, each of these localities will be further subdivided into neighborhoods and clusters.
A high street with commercial and retail spaces will pierce each of the thirteen districts as the main spine | Image Courtesy of Foster + Partners
Layer Neighborhoods
Similar to Barcelona, every neighborhood in the district is proposed to function as a superblock — a cluster of blocks framed by arterial roads with interior roads within for micro-level needs. The proposed network of integrated interior road systems will feature parking, one-way shared roads for private vehicles, dedicated paths for pedestrians, and public transport stops. This would promote car-free zones that can act as multiple escape routes for residents in times of emergencies and disasters.
Every neighborhood in a district is proposed to function as a superblock with an interior road network system | Image Courtesy of Türkiye Design Council
The principle of layering neighborhoods also focuses on orienting the buildings such that they respond to the local climate of Antakya, such as prevailing sun and wind directions. Each building will be uniquely designed to uphold and enrich the diverse character of the city’s streets. In addition, seismic strengthening of buildings will be ensured during the architecture and structural engineering process; preference will be given to compact buildings that are more resilient to earthquakes over the large and L-shaped structures that came down during the disaster last year.
Enhance Engagement Within Neighborhoods
The high street passing through different neighborhoods in every district will be well-supplied with social infrastructure such as schools, libraries, cultural centers, community parks, and local coffee roasteries to promote social engagement. New connections within the neighborhood will link the social amenities and plazas, reinforcing the city with a layer of resilience in times of crisis. Pathways connecting pocket gardens, plazas, and parks will ensure that these open green spaces are well-connected and easily accessible to residents.
Connections within neighborhoods will link social amenities, plazas, community parks, and eateries to promote social engagement | Image Courtesy of Foster + Partners
Enhance Connectivity Across the City
A robust transit system advances a city by enhancing accessibility, social connectivity, road safety, and economic growth while reducing pollution, road congestion, and saving time. Foster + Partners worked with the international transport planning firm Mobility in Chain to revive and plan Antakya's new transit network. The proposed network will consist of an efficient bus transit system with multimodal hubs at major junctions on the city’s bypass road.
Build Back
In the long run, the masterplan seeks to create an opportunity for the city to redistribute its density and limit the woes of urban sprawl. This is envisioned through the densification of the city center and high streets in every district, thereby achieving the same level of development in a much smaller area without disturbing the natural environment around the city.
Densifying the city center and high streets in every district will help limit urban sprawl | Image Courtesy of Foster + Partners
The Antakya of the future will not be a new city unfamiliar to its residents. Instead, by “building back,” the masterplan aims to restore and improve the streets of the city. With the help of the community engagement process, elements of urban memory will be reinstated to instill a sense of revival among the residents.
“Our strategy does not offer a ‘one size that fits all’ vision. It balances the historic spirit of the place with improvements and enhancements that will support a sustainable future for Antakya,” says Bruno Moser, Senior Partner and Head of Urban Design at Foster + Partners. “We have developed the vision underpinned by the fact that reconstruction following a natural disaster is not merely about buildings but about rebuilding communities, feelings of safety and belonging, and rebuilding trust.”
