UNFRAMED / Zaına Waseem
My project explores public art as a connective force in everyday urban life, from the casual encounters one has on their way to work or the sudden sighting that forms a collective memory for the inhabitants. As an exchange student newly arriving in Turkey, I gradually became aware of how once a foreign place starts to become familiar through the presence of art and architecture. This shaped my approach to the site that is located in Ungut, Kahramanmaraş. The neighbourhood design idea responds to the post-earthquake conditions of Ungut. Instead of rebuilding in isolated high-rise blocks, I proposed a hybrid urban typology that connected the old Ungut fabric – low-rise structures with courtyards, with the new high-rise structures, using stepped building blocks, interconnected green spaces, and communal zones, all stitched together through walkable paths. Public art in this way becomes embedded into the thresholds, walls, and shared spaces, giving a sense of shared identity to the community. The museum becomes a part of this fabric, inspired by Isamu Noguchi’s idea of sculpture as environment. The design is inspired the sloped terrain of the area, including a series of curved ramps, gallery pods, open-workshop spaces and columnar display zones. The atrium, covered with glass supported by local wooden beams, acts as a visual as well as physical connecter between the floors, allowing soft light and air into the core. The museum isn’t meant to be visited once, but revisited as a place to explore, play, reflect, and participate. The project title “Unframed” reflects both its curving, open spatial language and its conceptual idea. Art here is not “framed” in conventional ways, not behind glass or confined to white walls but instead, it spills out into the city, into everyday encounters. In a way, the name also reflects my experience, navigating an unfamiliar city, finding my own frame, and then letting it go. 
