future.lab Blog
Fakultät für Architektur
und Raumplanung
der TU Wien 
Our Topic for the research is “Strategies of articulation in Public Space”. For us both, Christina and Laura, elements and strategies of articulation are key factors shaping our cities and therefore, very interesting topics to be researched, well and profoundly understood. Public space is a vital factor in our lives in many different aspects, such as social, political, as a place of free expression, as gathering point… It is therefore […]
The journey including a stop in Bucharest takes all day and it is already early evening when I arrive at the airport where Laura picks me up. We take the bus to the city. Almost all buses go to „Taksim Square“, an indication that it must be a central point in the city. The bus stops in the middle of a narrow street and we are told to get out, […]
As soon as our giant Türk Kahvaltısı (Turkish typical breakfast with many small dishes) is served we totally forget the all worries about the trip, security matters, visa… Later we do some preparation and coordination work, because so far there are only a few concrete meeting points set with our several interview partners in various distant points around the city, which makes it hard to come up with a schedule […]
On day three we want to see some sights. We have lunch on the terrace of Istanbul Modern, where we enjoy the nice breeze, the sunny weather and a brilliant view of the Historical Peninsula. After the lunch we go to Hagia Sophia and Topkapı Palace. In the evening we go to Beşiktaş, a student neighborhood with a really relaxed atmosphere. After dinner, we go back to Taksim by dolmuş, […]
On day four we wake up early to prepare for our first interview with a sociology professor at Yıldız University. The campus is huge and it reminds us of American university campuses. The security staff at the entrance arranges that a driver bring us to the professor´s office when they notice that we are foreigners. We learn about the historical meaning of Taksim Square and the changes during the past […]
On day five we want to understand the importance of the Taksim Square and Istiklal Street for ourselves. Before we start our analysis we review few articles explaining the historical meaning of the area. In order to be able to record our own findings, we spend the whole day analyzing both the square and the street: we take pictures, draw maps and make audio recordings. We find that the monument […]
On day six we go to Kadir Has University in Fatih to meet up with a human rights lawyer. He explained to us the legal situation in Turkey regarding freedom of expression, right of demonstration in public space, Platzverbot... as well as his own perspective and experience on this topic. The interview takes longer than expected and it becomes more an informal talk than an interview, since we are all […]
On day seven we work in the apartment until midday when we go to Kadıköy. Once we get there, we meet with a group of architects that took part in the Gezi Movement. They tell us about how the protest began and developed, as well as how they participated. They started different activities for the neighbors of the park as soon as they got to know about the Ottoman barracks […]
On day eight we go to Yenikapı (translated as ‘new door’ or ‘new gate’), since it has came up so many times during our interviews because it as well as Maltepe, are the new gathering points for the mass and so we are so curious about them... As soon as we get off at the metro station of Yenikapı, it becomes clear that we are no longer in the hip […]
On day nine we want to get some souvenirs at the old bazar, walk trough old Istanbul and buy some Baklava to bring it home. Later during the day, we sum up all impressions and information to make sure not to forget anything. We go through everything we learned during the stay before leaving. We make a structure for the documentation work back home and sort the best pictures and […]
On day ten I have to leave in the morning. Even though in the beginning I had doubts about the journey, after these ten days I am flying back home with a totally different perspective on Istanbul. We both have learned so much during this trip and - especially for me – it has been a big enrichment. Despite having prepared a lot for this research in advance, the reality […]