Beylikduzu Valley and Bridge

Beylikduzu Valley and Bridge is a project that was designed by Alper Derinbogaz, Salon in order to shape the future of the valley will be pieced together with the targets of keeping it livable, accessible, sustainable, feasible.

Architects: Alper Derinbogaz, Salon
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Year: 2015

Follow the architects: We have collected the possibilities, the ideas, the dreams, and the scenarios we have thought of for the Life Valley, which is at the heart of Beylikdüzü, under the title of Keeping the Valley Alive. All decisions to shape the future of the valley will be pieced together with the targets of keeping the life valley livable, accessible, sustainable, feasible, and alive. We have detailed the Keeping the Life Valley Alive construct in 3 main headings, namely Access the Valley, Feel the Valley, and Watch the Valley. Transitions and strong relationships between different scales such as the civil society, the city scale, the district scale, and the bridge scale make up the backbone of the project.

The basic principle in the approach to the valley design has been comprehension of the valley from different angles. In line with this principle, spaces have been created that will draw people walking or riding bicycles inside the valley and that will appeal to their senses. The valley has been divided into zones with axes with remnants from the urban texture and these zones have been divided into different themes and functions. Focus points and stations have been placed within these zones. Stations repeating throughout the valley are defining bicycle parks, sitting areas and shaded areas, and are also presenting a symbol that is defining the valley identity. The valley has been divided into 6 regions in the north south axis; the youth zone, the bonding zone, the discovery zone, the recreation zone, the transformation zone and the production zone.

The bridge silhouette substitutes the horizon as far as it is exceeding the valley. The shortest line between two points on the other hand cannot provide a sufficiently rich route in order to sense the horizon. In this context the Walker Bridge creates a unique walking route for recreating this horizon that is lost in the natural view, helping us to sense the horizon in different forms, in a sense copying and pushing off the horizon with the watching bridge. The desire for touring and walking involves a wish to distance oneself from monotony and a search for adventure without risks. The Watching Bridge reveals a very different feature to its visitors in the dark. The lighting poles designed as an extension to the bearing system turn into a performance with the movements of the visitors at night. The light chain bends and turns throughout the route and passes over and under it, and embraces the vehicle bridge.

The watching terrace, the bicycle road, and the walking road provide a scenic walking route under the bridge and they are hanging in the air. It is expected that this structural system and its supporting principle will give the visitors on the platform the feeling of hanging in the air and provide them with a liberating experience. The walker connection links the two sides and it is designed as a road that shapes the tour as an experience, one where you can experience the natural landscape, the aromatic scents, the bird songs, and the thematic gardens. This passage is planned together with a route that appeals to all the senses with the natural flora and fauna. This journey provides you with rich experiences with slopes flowing into watching terraces, walking down to the valley from various created spaces.

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