A recurring memory. Earthquake Memorial by YNRDG Architecture

These days the news reminds us that the earthquakes that occurred in Turkey (also in Syria) are not the first. The area has been affected by more than twenty earthquakes in the last century and one of them was also particularly severe in the city of Bolu founded more than 2,000 years ago in the ancient kingdom of Bithynia.

YNRDG Architecture practice, led by the architects Ali Burak Yanardağ, Öner Demircan and Burcu Semizoğlu, was commissioned to design a centre to commemorate the earthquakes that hit the Bolu region in northern Turkey. The centre is located in an urban park in the capital, Bolu, a city located northwest of Ankara.

Earthquake Memorial by YNRDG Architecture. Photograph by Öner Demircan

The proposal put forward by YNRDG Architecture tries to make the centre an active meeting point for residents and the city and integrates into its program, in addition to a permanent area to remember the earthquakes that occurred, a gallery area for temporary exhibitions and a meeting room. acts.

The building is made up of two differentiated elements. A first floor is inserted into the ground, which reinterprets through a new topography the active interior of the land, with a monolithic structure of exposed concrete walls. This floor is covered with a folded layer, also made of exposed concrete. On these elements, the second floor is formalized with a horizontal volume that gives a sensation of lightness. The lights of the building illuminate the park and show its interior program, as a reflection of a new space for public use that opens through the terrace.

Earthquake Memorial by YNRDG Architecture. Photograph by Öner Demircan

Description of project by YNRDG - Yanardag Architecture

The earthquake memorial project considers a vision to transform the park site into a vibrant public destination for citizens.

The ground is reconstructed by a topographical interpretation, with a kind of shell that is transformed into an in-between layer. From a pedestrian vantage point, the building is perceived as a shell formed by the surface of the park by breaking off from the ground, irregular walls under this shell and a cubic volume that sits lightly on it. Creates a tension between solid and void. An urban memorial and exhibition spaces occupy the full ground floor, cafe the first floor.

These monolithic irregular walls of the ground floor are made of concrete and assume almost all functions: they support, insulate, protect and define interior and exterior space. The irregular concrete walls also refer to the city's past destruction. They provide diverse views in, out and through the building, varying the floor plan. This storey houses exhibition spaces and function rooms.

The horizontal volume defined by a concrete grid has a reflective facade, giving lightness to the whole envelope from the outside and is lost in the landscape. This volume becomes a lantern for the park and highlights the presence of new public space. Together with the open and semi-open terraces the cafe on the first floor creates a public location for socializing and dialogue.

The interior finishes are reduced: basalt stone flooring, and all vertical elements on the upper floor are lightened with reflective painted glass surfaces.