FRAGMENTED COMMERCE / SENA KİRAZGİLLER
This project approaches Akaretler, one of Istanbul’s significant historical commercial spines, not merely as a sequence of buildings, but as a continuous commercial memory and entrepreneurial infrastructure embedded in the urban fabric. The long-standing relationship between production, trade, and social interaction in Akaretler forms the conceptual foundation of the project. Within this context, the building is positioned as an interface between historical continuity and contemporary economic dynamics.
The design strategy reinterprets the regular, repetitive, and rational architectural order of Akaretler through a deconstructivist approach. Rather than erasing the historical fabric, deconstruction is employed as an analytical tool that reveals the underlying spatial and commercial codes of the area. The rhythmic facades, linear axes, and modular system of the historic structures are fragmented, shifted, and reassembled as architectural components that inform the building’s form and spatial organization.
Exhibition, production, and interaction spaces within the building are conceived not as static display environments, but as dynamic platforms that reflect the evolving nature of commerce and entrepreneurship. The project transforms the notion of exhibition into an active process, encouraging participation, experimentation, and exchange. In this way, space becomes a catalyst for economic movement rather than a passive container.
The deconstructivist architectural language spatially embodies key characteristics of entrepreneurship, such as risk, transformation, and innovation. Fragmentation and spatial tension are used intentionally to represent uncertainty and opportunity, while moments of reconnection and overlap foster interaction and collaboration.
Ultimately, the project establishes a critical architectural dialogue between the ordered commercial heritage of Akaretler and the fragmented, multi-layered economic structures of the contemporary city. By linking historical commercial identity with current entrepreneurial practices, the design proposes a spatial framework where memory, production, and innovation coexist.
