The contemporary khan: a housing and employment hub in Istanbul

Master thesis (2018)

Authors

J.J.W. Cousijn Architecture and the Built Environment

Contributors

P.J. Teerds Situated Architecture - Architecture and the Built Environment (mentor)
G. Koskamp Design of Constrution - Architecture and the Built Environment (mentor)
V. Muñoz Sanz Urban Design - Architecture and the Built Environment (mentor)
Fred Hobma Building Law - Architecture and the Built Environment (graduation committee member)
Faculty
Architecture and the Built Environment, Architecture and the Built Environment
Copyright: © 2018 Jorien Cousijn
More Info
expand_more

Published Date

05-11-2018

Language

English

Reuse Rights

Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.

Faculty

Architecture and the Built Environment

Abstract

In this project, the design of a contemporary version of the historic khan for new arrivals in present-day Istanbul is explored through architectural research. The research for this project focused on three aspects: (1) Istanbul, a tumultuous city between the east and west as the context. (2) The migrant trying to make his way in the city as the user. (3) The Khan, or han in Turkish, an architectural legacy specific to old Istanbul as the building type.

The khan is the urban variant of the caravanserai: a roadside-inn for merchants and travellers along long-distance trade routes in the Middle East and Asia. As khans are no longer in use for lodging of merchants, these mystique historical buildings are in threat of deterioration.

The project explores how the khans concepts can be transformed to a contemporary reinterpretation. In this reinterpretation, the khan is a place for arrivals: migrants who recently came to Istanbul in search of work, drawing parallels with the past use of khans. The contemporary khan offers temporary housing and a base for finding work in order for migrants to build up a future in Istanbul. The architectural design does not only play with the architectural legacy of the khan typology, but also with the existing urban fabric of Istanbul as well of the ruins of a former flour factory.