The first face-to-face event of the “Dekanlık Söyleşileri (Dean’s Talks)” series organized by the Dean’s Office of the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture of our university took place on March 17, 2022. At this event, Res.Asst. Özge Gürsoy from the Department of Architecture gave a presentation on her book, “An Investigation on Kadıköy Hasanpaşa Kurbağalıdere Urban Site,” which was published by Istanbul Medeniyet University Publications and co-authored with Prof. Dr. Nazlı Ferah AKINCI from Yıldız Technical University Department of Architecture.
In her presentation, Gürsoy discussed the development processes of the research, the physical condition of the Hasanpaşa Kurbağalıdere Urban Site, the perspective of the urban site’s inhabitants, and proposals for improvement in the area. The presentation highlighted the physical changes of the Hasanpaşa Kurbağalıdere urban site and its surroundings, one of city’s key architectural and cultural heritage regions, from 1930 to the present. She proposed ideas on how to use the unoccupied land created by the redevelopment of Kurbağalıdere, which is now part of the urban protected area. Gürsoy underlined that the usage of this site, which is still a parking lot, as a recreational area has an impact on the region’s people’s quality of life and attachment to the region. She investigated the impact of physical condition and housing on psychological well-being in addition to the social environment through interviews with residents. Architectural interventions that can be done to maintain the architectural character and history of the area were conveyed in the presentation. The existing state of the buildings on the urban site, as well as proposals for improvement are investigated. The implications of improvements that can be made to the facades of the area’s houses were discussed.
The characteristics of the architectural values of Hasanpaşa Kurbağalıdere Urban Site were discussed in the question and answer session that followed the presentation. The importance of the proposed urban site improvements in ensuring the resilience of the poor, who make up the majority of the region’s population, and enhancing wellbeing was underlined.
