ROOTED RESILIENCE / Yahya Kaan Çakır
Resisting Oblivion: A Memory-Oriented Approach to an Earthquake Museum in Kahramanmaraş
This project envisions an Earthquake Museum in Kahramanmaraş that not only documents collective trauma, but also becomes a space of healing, memory, and continuity. Located between Üngüt neighborhood and the school axis, the project seeks to bridge urban transformation with lived experiences. Üngüt, a district shaped by deep-rooted traditions and everyday life practices, offers a valuable cultural landscape that deserves preservation through design. While developing the masterplan for the urban regeneration area, special care was given to preserve the existing trees in residents’ gardens. These trees, silently witnessing generations, have inspired the very name of the project—reflecting a belief that memory can resist erasure through nature and place. Instead of erasing the past, the design embraces it, allowing nature to guide spatial decisions. This is manifested in the network of pedestrian pathways woven through the site, accompanied by generous reforestation to continue Üngüt’s green legacy.
The museum façade itself acts as an urban monument: a large-scale map-like surface representing the spatial memory of Kahramanmaraş—from Üngüt to the city center—providing orientation and symbolic grounding for visitors. Furthermore, an open-air memory exhibition is curated outside the museum, specifically dedicated to Üngüt. This serves as both a tribute to the neighborhood and a space where personal and collective stories can be remembered and shared.
Ultimately, this project is an attempt to let the memory of place—through trees, paths, and maps—resist destruction. It is not only a museum of disaster, but a hopeful space where life, memory, and future coexist.
