Project Type
Historical & Renovation
Location
Ankara, Türkiye
Year
2019
Project Service
Master Plan to Construction
Total Construction Area (m²)
50944.00
Employer
Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change
Located at the northern edge of Ankara’s historic center, Hergelen Square emerges as a critical intersection between the city’s layered urban memory and its evolving contemporary needs. Anchored by the cultural significance of “Ankara Houses” and defined by its proximity to Gençlik Parkı, the Train Station, and the Courthouse, the site holds an urban fabric that blends monumental history with everyday civic life.
This urban renewal project adopts a tripartite design strategy preserve, enhance, and reactivate. Eighteen registered buildings are meticulously conserved, while nineteen additional structures identified for their architectural merit are retained and rehabilitated. New interventions are calibrated to remain subordinate in scale and language, drawing cues from the silhouette and rhythm of the traditional built environment.
Vehicular traffic is rerouted along the perimeter to reclaim the interior for pedestrians. A network of public axes, redefined through the footprints of preserved buildings, stitches the site into the surrounding city. New plots respond to existing voids and flows, introducing functions such as student housing, a commercial spine, and a curated antiques bazaar, layered across carefully phased stages.
Respecting the modest scale of existing structures, taller new buildings are positioned only in zones devoid of heritage fabric. Open public courtyards, shaded walkways, and social nodes articulate a renewed vision of community rooted in memory, oriented toward vibrancy.
By reimagining Hergelen Square as a space of continuity between past and present, the project aims to anchor a forgotten civic node back into the everyday life of Ankara, reinforcing both spatial quality and social cohesion.
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