RE:WATER / Merve Ökten
Re:Water – Interdisciplinary Research and Experience Area Tracing Water
Re:water is a multifunctional water museum and research center that traces the
connection established with water in the past and questions how this relationship
can be sustained in the future. The project area hosts a water source that was
once active but has dried up today. In this context, the project aims to make
visible and revive the traces of dried up water both physically and conceptually.
The spatial setup begins with an exhibition area telling the story of water from the
entrance. In this section, visitors can visually and audibly experience how water
was used in the past, why it decreased and its effects on the local people. The
exhibition continues with the studies, solutions and scenarios on the
sustainability of water today.
A research laboratory and experimental area are located at the center of the
project. Here, researchers, academicians and students working especially in the
field of environmental engineering can conduct scientific studies. Researchers
from different institutions, especially Maraş Sütçü İmam University, can stay
temporarily in this center, collect data and conduct experiments.
The conference hall is designed to host regular workshops, panels and
symposiums. In addition, the cafe and restaurant areas serve as social areas
open to both visitors and the neighborhood.
The project adopts a spatial structure in harmony with nature with its elliptical
form inspired by the tumulus shape and the rain garden axis that establishes a
relationship with the neighborhood. re.water is not just a building; it is also a
living space that reminds us of the value of water, produces and shares
knowledge.
