Research Information System
XIV. INTERNATIONAL SINAN SYMPOSIUM, Edirne, Turkey, 17 - 18 April 2025, vol.1, pp.219-228, (Full Text)
Ancient knowledge of the past has been passed to future generations in different ways throughout human history. Before the invention of writing, cave paintings, oral expressions and even the most primitive architectural artifacts were used to transfer societal culture and knowledge to the future. Like every individual, a society also has a memory consisting of common remembrances and values. Preserving and maintaining the society’s collective memory means upholding its goals and values and ensuring its survival by transferring them to the future. The erasure or destruction of collective memory means the degeneration of the society’s values, at which point it loses its unique identity. Societies survive through the social and psychological bonds established between individuals within the framework of their cultural values, common experiences and shared memories. In this context, the sustainability of collective memory refers to the sustainability of society. Some components of collective memory are the wars, famines, revolutions and losses or gains that the society has experienced. These components have been represented in human settlements throughout history through architecture. Through the representational power of architecture, the preservation and continuity of collective memory is ensured. These places, which connect the past and future – physically and spatially, are important threshold spaces of cities. Therefore, places of collective memory as urban thresholds have unique missions in the city and society. In this context, a national competition project aimed at designing a collective memory space as an urban threshold will be analyzed. The design processes and approach of our project, which received the second prize in the 100th Anniversary of the Turkish Republic Monument Idea Project Competition opened by the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality in 2022, will be discussed. This study aims to convey the process and conceptual approach from the sketches to 3D visualization. The project concept represents one of the most important breaking points of Turkish society, such as the Republic, with an urban threshold that connects the past and future. The design approach is suitable for the spirit of the place in Ankara, the capital of the Republic, and transferring it to future generations, can give ideas and inspiration to future designs.