The Sea of Marmara is swamped with plastic pollution and other byproducts of our rampant consumerism, but according to ONZ Architects, the issue is “swept under the carpet” and most residents of Istanbul faced with continued development look the other way. The designers’ strategy to encourage a new awareness involves sweeping that carpet right back out from underneath people’s feet.
Called “Tearing the Earth,” their design for a temporary installation at Istanbul Modern for the first Young Architects Program involves ripping up the courtyard adjacent to the museum, removing the earth, and creating a suspended “flying carpet” made of plastic pollution swept up by the sea. One of five finalists, ONZ Architects made a curious video of their design process and you can watch it after the jump.
Like the air-scrubbing curiosity called Wendy that we saw while in Abu Dhabi recently, the YAP Istanbul Modern project is a temporary installation that will become a summer events venue for urbanites.
Carried out by Istanbul Modern in partnership with the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) / MoMA PS1, the program is co-sponsored by Polimeks and VitrA.
The winning design proposal, Sky Spotting Stop, will be built in June, while each of the finalist designs will be exhibited throughout the summer at Istanbul Modern, MoMA PS1, MAXXI, and CONSTRUCTO. Including one of our personal favorites “Tearing Ground.”
Evidenced by such seminal works as Cradle to Cradle and a host of subsequent books and projects, the design community is acutely aware of the problem of waste and pollution. And design plays a critical role in getting regular people to see their world differently.
Certainly ONZ Architects have taken up the baton with their recycled plastic carpet, which would have provided not only a sun screen for visitors to Istanbul Modern, but also a portal to our consumption behavior.
In their design brief, they noted that people usually avoid what they don’t want to see. Indeed, the issue of plastic pollution in all of our oceans is so widespread and distressing, it seems the entire globe is pretending that is not the case.
“We believe we can only change this situation by stopping people to forget the problem, by constantly reminding them, what’s going on under their feet,” the team wrote.
“What is rubbish becomes value. In a way, the project will be a reflection of what is discarded into the sea, what the city produces as waste and all that waste that is beyond the recycling system,” they continued.
While this project did not take first prize, we think it is important to consider the valuable message this bright young team of Turkish architects is attempting to convey.
:: Arch Daily
Author: Tafline Laylin
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
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