Istanbul Modern in partnership with The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) / MoMA PS1 and co-sponsored by Garanti Bank, Polimeks Holding and VitrA presents the second temporary installation of the YAP Istanbul Modern: Young Architects Program.
Designed by PATTU (Cem Kozar, Işıl Ünal), the project entitled “ALL THAT IS SOLID” will be installed in early June in Istanbul Modern’s courtyard. It will host special events addressing especially the young audience and can be used throughout the summer of 2015 by museum visitors of all ages. In addition to the winner, the designs proposed by all the finalists of the YAP International programs will be exhibited at Istanbul Modern, MoMA PS1 (New York), MAXXI (Rome), CONSTRUCTO (Santiago), and MMCA (Seoul).
“ALL THAT IS SOLID” is a temporary site-specific installation that is inspired by the industrial history of the area, it is a reminder of the past but also a statement about the imminent change the future holds, so we can be more critical about it. According to PATTU, “Buildings are like anchors to memories because they tend to last longer than our human lifespan. But how solid are buildings? The fact that they are made of stone, cement and marble does not really make them last eternally. They can easily be gone in a day. So we borrowed a part of the famous quote ‘All that is solid melts into air.’ Our approach was to dissect the space around Istanbul Modern with all its elements and previous constructions and reassemble them, showing the ephemeral side of architecture. The design borrows geometries from buildings that once stood in the area and crunches them together in a chaotic way. But this chaos starts making sense over the course of a day as the transparent shapes become opaque. Past geometries become visible, and invisible.”
Held biannually during the summer, the ‘YAP Istanbul Modern: Young Architects Program’ offers emerging architects the opportunity to design temporary exterior installations through an innovative approach to architectural design. In line with the principles of the program, nominators from across Turkey and the TRNC were contacted. These included architectural academicians, architectural critics, members of periodical publications, and representatives from professional organizations such as the Chamber of Architects and the Association of Architects in Private Practice. On 11 November 2014, 5 finalists were selected from among the 30 young candidates put forth by these nominators who then assessed the portfolios presented by finalists. The finalists were asked to develop proposals for a temporary installation for Istanbul Modern’s courtyard. The selection of January 22 was made from among these proposals.
“Whisper of Trees” of Ali Sinan & Hasan Okan Çetin; “House of Ropes” of FLAT C; “Collective Ground” of Herkes İçin Mimarlık (Architecture for All); “The Bosphorus Grove” of Young & Ayata were the other projects developed for Istanbul Modern’s courtyard and presented to the jury on January 22 in addition to “ALL THAT IS SOLID” of PATTU.
