Islands of Otherness The research project Islands of Otherness: Archipelago Istanbul intends
to research how a confrontation with Otherness results in spatial
manifestations within the urban fabric and architecture of Istanbul. The
initial starting point lies in defining the term Otherness, as
everything that is dissimilar to the Self, and how it applies to space,
cities and the particular case study of Istanbul. Istanbul forms the
ideal city for a study of this kind, as manifestations of Otherness and
the dichotomy between the Self and the Other are prevalent, starting
from its position at a geographical crossroads with inherently implied
divisions to its turbulent history that leads to many shifts as to what
is considered the Other. The present reality of Istanbul, with its many
borderlines and edges, be they implied or physical, visible or
invisible, leads to inequitable segregation. The observable examples of
spatial manifestations of Otherness in Istanbul will be studied
thoroughly. This project forms the speculative and theoretical
hypothesis that the city of Istanbul is, paradoxically, de-urbanising
itself in the wake of its extreme growth. What it is increasingly
becoming is less a city but an ensemble of independent urban islands
that form a city that resembles an archipelago. By reading these urban
islands under the speculative assumption that they are, above all,
consequences of Otherness, this project aims to answer how Otherness is
spatialized, how it manifests in different spaces of Istanbul, and how
it consequently affects the structure of the city. More coming soon. This
research project is an extension of individual master theses
studies, done by the two authors Fereshteh Assadzadeh and Ivo
Pekec.
