Students' quest for sustainability

Abstract

Sustainability was an umbrella term in a design studio in one of the architecture schools in Turkey. Students were offered a site on the flat plains of Central Anatolia. The objective of this paper is to depict certain design propositions that investigate sustainability in cultural facilities reinterpreting the organizational and spatial structure of the existing surroundings. The students were asked to design a project focusing on the following issues: To design a culture complex or building near the existing fabric of an ecology-friendly "Village Institute" on the site, these institutes being widely acknowledged as a significant attempt of the early years of the Republic to create an integrated education and production system in Anatolia. To develop a spatial program to discover new potentials for a contemporary culture complex, providing its users with a maximum of outdoor facilities. To foster a design for a zero-carbon environment through recycling the water of the nearby river and through waste management and the design of an eco-farm, balancing strategies for emission and dispersion on the site. Examination of the integrated system of the institutes, which fits with the distinct character of the place and the global culture and environment, laid the groundwork for the design solutions. Ultimately a site visit, discussions with experts in the studio, research studies and a series of workshops allowed for very fruitful propositions. These projects also incorporated miscellaneous ecostrategies discussed in the studio toward the goal of a zero-carbon environment.