Posted by meb at May 26th, 2008

Turkey’s impressive cultural and architectural heritage deserve preserving as developers turn a covetous eye to its coast, a world-renowned architect warned at a real estate symposium held Saturday in Bodrum.

“What differentiates architecture from construction is delight, which ensures sustainability,” said acclaimed architect and New York University professor Richard England, whose works may be found as far afield as Kazakhstan and Malta. “Architecture should create places for the soul, not just the body. An important element of this architecture is to create something with, and in which we can put, a bit of love.”

England’s words came in the course of the “Investate’08 Turkish Coasts Real Estate Investment Meeting,” a series of conferences and seminars that addressed the future of the Turkish coast.

Organized by IKON Events and Akın Nalça Modular Spaces, an advertising and design services firm, the meeting hosted domestic and international investment firms active in Turkey; potential investors; local administrators, who spoke about their towns and neighborhoods; academics; top-notch architects, and real estate and tourism moguls.

Michael Sorkin, founder of New York’s Terreform urban ecology outfit and a distinguished architect, professor and journalist, warned that Turkey faces numerous challenges to its architectural legacy and urban life.

“The most immediate precautions should include protection of the unique and attractive architectural and urban culture, efficient handling of rapid urban development and providing well-planned housing and environmental projects for all citizens,” he said.

The country must retain its uniqueness, while searching for new solutions to environmental, technological, social and urban issues, the innovative urban designer advised.

Professor Dr. Süha Özkan, chairman of the Investate’08 Advisory Board and president of the World Architecture Congress, noted the urgency of tending to the matters his colleagues addressed if Turkey is to benefit from its greatest natural asset.

“The economic balance has shifted to East and Southeast Asian countries over the last 20 years, with raw materials becoming the common coin, ” Özkan said. “Along these lines, the most important means of investment in Turkey has been the real estate sector, whose rising popularity necessitates well-planned and controlled architecture.”

Özkan cited Bodrum as an example of a district that distinguishes itself from other popular tourism centers by maintaining its old architectural features.

Derin Orhon, a professor at Istanbul Technical University’s faculty of environmental engineering, addressed the need to preserve that legacy.

“Environment is one of the hardest topics in the process of [Turkey’s] transition into the European Union,” he said. “Unfortunately, Turkey does not place enough importance on the issue.”

Turkey lacks three things: Attention, information and financing, noted Orhon, who called the region’s history the main lure of coastal investors. Should it be disrupted, those investors may flee.

“The most negligent bodies on environment issues in Turkey are the government and local administrations,” Orhon said.

Among other things, the gathering sought to bring foreign real estate firms and Turkish real estate investors under one roof in order to expedite the sale of projects on the Turkish coast and draw up a roadmap for future development. Presentations covered ongoing and planned coastal projects, while discussion revolved around the challenges of carrying out those projects amid today’s political and economic climate.

Ali Güreli, chairman of IKON Events said he expected the forum to become an annual event that encourages and helps oversee environmentally-friendly projects along the Turkish coast.

“As a young country, Turkey is lucky to be able to learn from the mistakes of other nations with more experience in architectural development,” he said. Turkey’s Denizbank led a group of 36 event sponsors whose ranks included Acacia International, Ağaoğlu, Artev Global, Corendon, Doğa Gayrimenkul, Novron İnşaat, Regnum, Royal Residence, the Bodrum Chamber of Commerce, the Bozatlı Group, Engel Völkers and the Homebuyers Show.
source: Turkish Daily News