CIVIC FLOW / ŞEVVAL YILMAZ

This project aims to transform the urban flows that demonstrate continuity across the historical, social, and spatial layers of the city of Sivas into an architectural instrument. Public life, shaped over centuries within the city center, is interpreted not only through fixed spaces but also through human movement, transportation networks, social interaction, and everyday practices. By reinterpreting these dynamics through the lens of a municipal building, the project seeks to transform an administrative function into an active field of urban public life.

By analyzing the flows of people and transportation between Sivas’s historical core, contemporary city center, and ecological corridors, the building is designed as an integral part of these interconnected systems. Rather than being conceived solely as an administrative structure, the municipal building is approached as a multilayered urban fragment supported by cultural, social, and public programs. This approach aims to reduce the distance between governance and citizens, integrating the building into the rhythms of everyday urban life.

The spatial configuration of the design is developed through a fluid formal language and an inner courtyard organization. The courtyard functions both as the central void of the building and as a public focal point that brings together diverse user groups. The masses are fragmented and interconnected in response to the direction of urban flows, generating a continuity of semi-open and open spaces. Circular and curvilinear geometries translate the continuity of movement within the city into architectural expression, while a permeable façade strategy reinforces the notions of transparency and accessibility.

The cultural and social units integrated into the program are conceived as complementary to the municipal function, enabling the building to operate as a living public center beyond office hours and throughout different times of the day. Civic Flow proposes a flow-based urban center that reinterprets Sivas’s long-standing culture of public life through a contemporary architectural perspective.