Istanbul

Tuzla faces a complex array of challenges stemming from rapid industrialization, unplanned urban growth, and environmental degradation. Once known for its rich history of salt production, fishing, agricultural activity, and healing waters during Byzantine and Ottoman times, Tuzla’s identity has been overshadowed by industrial expansion. Between the 1950s and 1970s, the area transformed into a hub for shipyards and military facilities, leading to sprawling unregulated development. This rapid change disrupted the region’s delicate ecological balance, particularly its natural water sources, which have suffered from pollution and fragmentation.

The unchecked urbanization has also diminished Tuzla’s historical and cultural significance. Traditional practices and landscapes have been replaced by industrial zones, while vital water resources—once central to the community’s identity—have been neglected. Adding to the strain, Tuzla’s urban sprawl exacerbates the heat island effect, amplifying city warming and intensifying the impacts of climate change.

These challenges demand innovative solutions to restore Tuzla’s natural and cultural heritage, address ecological damage, and create sustainable urban environments. By reconnecting the city to its water-based roots and limiting further unplanned growth, there is an opportunity to revitalize its ecosystem and foster a resilient, harmonious coexistence between people and nature.

Uplifting Places Tuzla’s identity has long been tied to its diverse water resources, central to activities like fishing, salt production, agriculture, and modern shipyards.

This project restores Tuzla’s dynamic character by centering water as a shared heritage, connecting natural and human elements through a living ecological belt, a yellow circulatory loop, and a socio-cultural network. By revitalizing Tuzla’s heterogeneous ecosystem, it reimagines co-creation and co-habitation with nature, crafting 21st-century urban landscapes. This vision aligns with the Horizon Shaper Award criteria, celebrating transformative projects with long-term urban planning and meaningful impacts.

Healthy planet to address the impacts of urbanization and industrialization, the project reclaims the stream protection zone and establishes a continuous patch-corridor network, setting clear limits to development. The stream bed is restored to enhance biodiversity, stormwater infrastructure collects rainwater, and native plants rehabilitate habitats.

Traffic evaporation reduces the heat island effect, while new mobility solutions support decarbonization. Within a decade, the project becomes carbon net-positive, exemplifying sustainable urban transformation. These efforts reflect the Horizon Shaper Award’s focus on visionary, collaborative strategies for resilient cityscapes.

The project emerges as a beacon for community vitality, fostering socio-ecological connections that redefine urban living. One of Istanbul’s few projects to embrace co-design participatory processes, it amplifies the voices of local community members across diverse ages and backgrounds. This inclusivity enriches the design, promoting equity by doubling the public space available per person.

Through interactive and social open space programs, the project transforms shared environments into hubs of connection. Accessibility and safety are prioritized through inclusive mobility solutions and thoughtful lighting. Open post-disaster assembly areas provide crucial resilience in Tuzla’s densely urbanized, earthquake-prone landscape. By diversifying recreation and play options, the project bolsters public health, embodying a vision of enduring community well-being. These initiatives resonate with the Horizon Shaper Award’s celebration of long-term strategic purpose and transformative urban impact.

Confronting budgetary constraints with ingenuity, the project reimagines limitations as pathways to opportunity. Recycling existing site materials—such as aggregate, natural stones, and sand—minimizes waste and reduces the need for new resources. By engaging local labour and materials, the project not only cuts transportation costs and emissions but also invigorates the local economy. Low-maintenance materials and drought-resistant plants further economize upkeep, while rainwater harvesting ensures water availability during dry seasons.

Energy-efficient designs reduce electrical energy consumption by 63%, significantly lowering costs. The incorporation of biking connections to the Metro fosters sustainable mobility, decreasing fossil fuel dependence. These innovative, eco-conscious strategies align seamlessly with the Horizon Shaper Award’s recognition of impactful, forward-thinking initiatives. The project’s holistic approach marries economic viability with environmental stewardship, leaving a profound and lasting imprint on Tuzla’s urban fabric.