"Spaces on the top"- Ergun Ozyoruk

junior discussant

Since the beginning of the history, there have been changing processes of identifying the limits of the town and of the city. In the beginning the walled area of a settlement was completely controlled from the top of a tower. Later, buildings were attached to the castles and its walls. Then, as population grew bigger, the size of the town become larger. Hence, we have difficulty to clarify borders of a town because of the increasing of the population. In addition to this, squares and towers gained importance for the open space for people. These open spaces work as public places where people go and spend their time. However, when people try to reach these open spaces, they have difficulty to find them because of organic city texture. This is why the vertical point which is the tower became substantial for people to find open areas and orient themselves in the town. On the other hand, the tower is not only a vertical element, it's also a symbol of the town as most medieval towns had a tower. Furthermore, a tower contains meanings such as power, control, and richness.

First, towers work as landmarks for both city and square. The tower plays a symbolic role in identify existing boundaries around itself. Furthermore, we label or remember a city or a square because of its tower. This is the case of Pisa's tower in Italy, Galata tower in Istanbul, San Marco tower in Venice . This means that towers allow us to understand urban space relating with the squares, the town and the whole territory all around. Towers create new boundaries in people's minds. Towers are important for people in order to understand our location in the city and to reach a point guided by the tower. In addition, when we head to a square which has tower such as San Marco Square, we find it easily by viewing the tower of San Marco's square from distance. Therefore, towers are elements of orientation in the town, while searching squares, central places, spaces of public use and social life. The water gate to Venice is in San Marco and we understand the shape of the town by means of the square and the tower. In spite of the fact that Venice has an organic texture and not a clear boundary, we understand our location by the tower of San Marco's Square view. Hence, it is not important that the city has an organic texture or that it is confusing or chaotic for us. Viewing the top of tower or vertical point gives us the opportunity to make a mental map to understand our location in relation to the squares.

Other example is that when we go in the Galata Tower in Istanbul, we identify our location according to the Galata Tower. Towers are a huge opportunity for us, as they become orientation points for us . Hence, when we are at the top point of tower, borders or limits become clear and identifiable. Moreover, another advantage is that its verticality has an important role. When we rise at the top of the tower, we can really understand the limit of the city and its borders. Sometimes towers which have a good or large view provide us the opportunity to understand other cities and their borders. When we get to the top of the tower of Proceno Castle , we realize the borders or the limits of the village and we see our neighbor's borders. Furthermore, people can easily make a mental map in order to find the position according to the towers

Towers have been changing a lot since the 19th century. despite of the evident similarities and differences between them, towers have been transformed into skyscrapers by means of a peculiar sensibility for the vertical dimension. The tower included a square or a palace and a bell in its substance of vertical landmark, in order to attract and connect people. Nowadays, skyscrapers are a must for the town as the population grows so fast that the urban territories are no longer enough for people to live and work. Skyscrapers become higher, their limit and borders rise in the sky. Hence, families and enterprises building up the highest structures, earn a good reputation in their towns. Cities show their power by building the highest structure and these structures attract lots of people and tourists . Therefore, skyscrapers become landmark and vertical symbolic element for cities just like old towers. But skyscrapers have no meaning of protection and of control like in old towns. The top of the skyscraper does not work as a control point but it becomes a landmark and a vertical signal for people to find their ways and location. However, when the structure becomes high, its borders and limits enormously change if you compare with the human scale.

And now, the last question: how can we use the square and the tower in the same area in order to create new borders or new landmarks? How can we create public places on the top of the highest building as result of a design action?

People always desired to live on the top level or higher than the ground level. People always desired to built something higher tan the top level. We see the examples in the past. People built their houses on top of a mountain or on a tree. In addition, they tried to connect or insert their habits or living styles to high-rising places such as the Babylon tower. They integrated the garden on a high city wall. We try to make the same buildings' structure in the present , just as it was once, in Babylon.

The top of the skyscrapers sometimes are not suitable for visits or public use , for seeing or identifying limits or borders of the city. The top of the skyscrapers may be used for public purposes but the problem is that the high points are a limit for pubic use itself. We can enlarge the top of the tower buildings for people so as to give the opportunity to look around. It was done in the Eiffel tower in Paris and that was probably the starting point of a competition among architectures in order to acquire thorough the quality of the top a new visibility. In spite of attracting so many visitors, enlarge the top of the tower. This way the mass of people can enjoy the wonderful view. These places on the top suddenly became landmarks, symbols and a public spaces for people. Therefore, we build structures which become landmark and have a wonderful view on the cities.

New York is a good example of a top view because of the fact that almost all top-roofs are green gardens and there is a wonderful view, when we look at them- there is an incredible image , it seems as heaven because of the fact that people are standing on the cloud's level and are surrounded by green gardens like in heaven. People try to built connections between top levels of buildings. This way we create new relations among them. Hence, we gain extra limits and borders for many activities.

Another point is that architecture achieves to construct buildings which are both squares and towers. It looks like a public space and provides the opportunity to people to recognize the landmark. This place works as a compact area in which there could be living, working, spending time and various activities such as attending concerts or going to the cinema, reading books, meeting , dancing and so on. This structure could work also as a tower of public space . As a result, this construction gives answers to all needs of people. This project contains lots of activities to take place at the top of the building which means we create new borders at the highest level of these buildings and move public areas on the top.

Today, architecture has achieved high level techniques for constructing high buildings. Architecture has reached and over passed the human ideas and dreams. As a result, long-since, people have been building with the goal of inserting their living habits on the top. Architecture has the power to realize new vertical borders for both living and working, in order to create huge places that work as squares in the sky. They are able to contain a variety of activities such as eating, reading, watching, listening and meeting , all to be enjoyed in the same place inserted in the very top level of the building. The top could be made of a glass structure to protect from strong wind or could be transparent for sun light, hosting water surfaces and garden areas inside.

In conclusion, architecture creates new urban spaces as a feature at the top of the buildings. This space works as public place, his structure can meet all needs of people. People can work there, live, enjoy and spend their time. In the same time the public space on the top contains all the elements of a landmark as the tower was in former time from outside, and all the elements of a meeting point as the square was from inside. All the elements of a contemporary form of urban space, settled on the top, space on the top.