Honorable Mention, Young Architects Competitions Military Museum Project

Young Architects Competitions (YAC)'ın düzenlediği uluslararası mimari tasarım yarışmasında Buğrahan Miraç Eser, Kerem Yeşildağ, Hatice Ceren Kolaç, Bora Talun ekibinin mansiyon ödülüne layık görülen "Askeri Müze" projesi.

Proje Raporu

The moment may be temporary, but the memory is forever.

                                   Bud MEYER.

There are places in which history is extremely meaningful. There are spaces where memory becomes nearly physical, tangible and where the memory of the past is stunningly real and intensively present.

The Military Fortress of Capo d’Orso,

It is sculpted in the granite of a monumental coast, it pictures the marks of past, It is the legacy of difficult times when the pages of history were written by the steel of bayonets and cannons. The Fortress, which was made with the concern of mastering the area of the war architecture of memorable history, succeeded in hiding with intelligence purpose, is not perceived from the perfect Mediterranean waters. War architecture, has always been centered upon strategies. Reducing the siege risk by not being seen by the enemy, find out the enemy’s movement and not known by the enemy are the main strategies which the military fortress of Capo d’Orso stands on. A fairly well-hidden fortress is a very difficult experience to perceive on a human scale during the main approach. Which was meant to be. However, Today, wars have ended, soldiers are gone. Now, it needs to be seen to live on. So, with the support of new military museum, it should be percieved by the tourist and convince them to come to the site. It should attract the millions of tourists who crowd these coasts every year. It should be the new foundation to build a civilization of peace and solidarity.

The moment may be temporary, but the memory is forever.

They lived, fought and died. Now it’s time for peace. Guilty or innocent, victims or executioners… They were firstly human beings then soldiers.They were the lives that are now buried in memory. The memorial is for everyone to memorialize. It is not a fiction aimed at passing memorial action, unlike this ‘when the remembering was done the forgetting could begin’. The memorial action should be a feeling that the user must live and experience by having an active role. In this context, instead of the blindness that a obvious memorial fiction will create, a curiosity aroused, an effort to be seen, and an act that people have an active role in his perception is preferred.

Memorial Approach,

The design decision is that the memorial space is the focus point of the whole project. In this context, it was aimed to make the sense of “commemorating” feel equal to both sides of the war. In such a construction, the role of the loneliness of the blank monumental wall provides integrity with the reference from the center point to the fortress. What is desired by this approach is that feelings and memories are part of a whole. They only get meaning together and aim to make the visitor a part of it.

Physical Response,

The project is located at the highest point oppose to the Military Fortress of Capo D’orso, trying to contrast while having a command of the hill just like The Fortress’ characteristic feature. Defined at the center of the mass, peaceful and meditational Memorial Space’s high wall, blocks the guidance of human-scale and focus on directly to the ‘missing piece of memorial’ at the entrance of fortress. So, reference of two mass with each others leads fictional completion for memorial. Spirally elevated mass around the memorial wall, creates different vistas such as; Fortress, Capo D’orso, Sea and Lands. By creating such a path, visitors have a chance to review the parts of Military Fortress which is invisible from the point of view of a human. A slit takes visitor inside of the building at the end of the ramp, so, the path gets continuity towards interior.

War to Tourist & Cultural Architecture,

With a locational advantage, the side of the project which looks at the Fortress defined as a museum by combining existing architecture of the Fortress. This approach leads the Museum integrate with new and old settlements. The side which looks at to the Capo D’orso designed with a purpose of entertainment. Event Space and Amphiteather created for multipurpose on the natural slope of the hill. The project tries to create richness of space by accessing to event space from the library and restaurant directly. Units of the hotel differently seperated from the center. Each Unit has an unique perspective on the site because of distributing approach. While it becomes lost in natural site, it also gives an opportunity to trekking.