Disconnected Atlas is an architectural design project which was completed at 3rd year studio of Istanbul Technical University. These series of structures were located at Lunapark Square which is the center of Princes' Islands, Istanbul. The square has a crucial role as a public space, and creates an intersection point between "the pier" and "The Church of St. George". Moreover the structure proposes a new relationship between the habitants, the non-islanders and the carriages.
Disconnected Atlas is a therapy space which processes through "human memory". The mechanic elements of the structure promise a memory-based experience to the visitors with the contribution of the mystical aura of Lunapark Square. The project was designed through the term transpose as a starting point at the studio, and inspired by Adrian Forty's ideas in Art of Forgetting book, and Rachel Whiteread's large-scale installations.
JUNE, 2015
The idea was constructed around mathematical expression of the term transpose; the structure is an equation, and if the inputs are replaced by someone or something (architectural space), the existence of Disconnected Atlas can't be changed. In the diagram, each living thing in the island (habitants, non-islanders/tourists, nature) is depicted as positive and negative signs which are inputs and outputs of the entire system. Atlas refers to the mental mapping of both the patients and the islanders' mind, and also works as a recorder that replicates the behaviors of its visitors. As a treatment method, the consciousness of the patients will be disconnected from their bodies and minds in time.
After the practices through section drawings and physical models, first main part of Disconnected Atlas was discovered;
it's CopyCat.
There are two main, and three supportive structures in the project. While CopyCats directly related with the therapy methods and help the user forgetting object-oriented memories, Banks, on the contrary, create a locked space for each user to preserve all of them. As supportive structures, Gates create a relationship between the square and the outside, ResinBags store the base material of the therapy process, and FeedBags create a public area for the horses in the Lunapark Square.
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