Landscape and Urban Design Project Competition of İzmit Waterfront

The adverse effects of the transition from a coastal city to an industrial city…

The need to keep a distance from such a wonderful geography…

Living with the sea at one moment, and turning away from it the next…

From Nicomedia to Republican Izmit, a city of modest yet gorgeous nature and culture, looking for its past…

Our project looks for answers towards making Izmit a livable and sustainable city. The emphasis is on strategic planning initiatives that will range from small-scale urban configuration to the metropolitan, regional, and supra-regional (river basin) scale and to pump fresh blood to the veins of the city. The most important planning decision is the ‘river basin protection’ approach for saving the future of Izmit. This river basin is also home to many wetland ecosystems featuring a very rich bio-diversity. A three-layer protection scheme was designed around the wetlands: an area closed to visitors at all times and reserved for scientific research; a limited-access visitor area that will be closed during the reproduction and spawning periods of the water birds; and passive recreation and bird observation spots that will be open to visitors year-round, provided with a set of rules.

The design decisions along the Izmit Bay waterfront between Derince and Karamürsel prioritizes pedestrians. Green fingers perpendicular to the sea extend into the residential areas. The footprint of the industrial and storage areas proposed to be cast away from the city center will be taken over by residential structures, acting as ‘urban magnets’ balancing nature and the city. Other areas close to the center are taken up by low-density tourism structures and eco-tourism suggestions.

The elevated main pedestrian promenade of the project, ‘Ecological Coastal Line’, runs as a unique green bridge penetrating the heart of the city; symbolizing the co-existence of the city and nature with mutual respect and tolerance. The terminal point for the main pedestrian promenade is the new square of Izmit, named after ancient Nicomedia. Nicomedia Congress and Culture Center that we call as ‘Cocoon’ will be the new symbol building of Izmit with its architectural form.

This project won the third mention award in the Landscape and Urban Design Project Competition of İzmit Waterfront in 2010.