Istanbul on the Way of ‘Londonisation’ by Emre Arolat

Panel, 06 Temmuz 2012 tarihinde Londra'da gerçekleşiyor.

Especially for the last 15 years, Istanbul has gone into a rapid development move, getting well along with the globalisation trends within the political and economical policies in Turkey which may be categorized under conservative-neoliberalism. These moves have definite destructive effects on urban memory. The city is being ‘sold’ disregarding what it really is.

This scene triggers the image of Thatcher era in London once again in our minds where economic liberalizations, free trade and open markets has found its physical appearance in the city. There, we come to the question: Is Istanbul on the way of ‘Londonisation’?

In this current era, when even newly built mosques have become a part of world of spectacle, EAA- Emre Arolat Architects tries to gain a specific critical position in this big, chaotic and constantly changing metropolis. Being one of the key players of this context and dealing with designs just at the center of this great urban transformation, EAA – Emre Arolat Architects unavoidably faces the situation directly on first hand.