philadelphia PENNSLYVANIA
Penn Design
Critic: Ferda KOLATAN and Michael ZIMMERMAN
suckerPUNCH: Describe your project.
Carla BONILLA and Yang LI : This project weaves between the interstitial and the urban in order to deal with a non-site, playing with existing strange characteristics to create new hybrids.
- Carla BONILLA and Yang LI, “Tophane Junction.”, Axon
- Carla BONILLA and Yang LI, “Tophane Junction.”, Chunk Elevation
- Carla BONILLA and Yang LI, “Tophane Junction.”, Chunk Axon
- Carla BONILLA and Yang LI, “Tophane Junction.”, Chunk Axon
Located at one of the major intersections of the Tophane quarter located in Istanbul, this project connects to the existing Tophane building and its terraces to create an art gallery and tram station.
The interstitial deals with the oddities located on the façade of the Tophane I-amire building, locating itself within the thickness of the wall. It creates a new reading of the existing elements on the facade, reframing an oddly-positioned and abandoned baroque door, and re-purposing its deserted large basement entrances. It uses these elements to create narrow spaces carving into the ground and generating an art gallery in the in-betweens.
The tram station on the other side positions itself as a connector, creating a bridge between Tophane’s terraces and the park on the other side of the street. It uses the Dolmabahce Palace’s crystal stairs as a starting point, hybridizing with the bridge and platform to create a semi-enclosed space. Within this semi-interior, Tophane motifs re-appear, merging themselves with an Ebru pattern. This pattern creates ambiguity between itself and the form of the space, as well as physicalizes in handrails, lighting elements and ticket machines.
