Bursa Setbaşı, Yeşil and Emirsultan Historical Axis

Bursa City

* Plain-City

When we began to reflect on Ottoman Bursa, although it was not easy to define the city with a single expression, we believe that the prominent definition is "PLAIN-CITY". Before making our decisions regarding the competition area, we started by trying to understand what the "plain" is and how this void shaped urban spaces through its "founding geographies".

Founding Geographies

* Hills, Streams, Valleys / Complexes, Bridges, Inns

For the Bursa Plain, we can talk about a situation where topography directly affects the tectonics of the urban space. We think it would not be wrong to define the city as one where the hills are shaped by complexes, the streams by bridges; and the plain and valleys by inns and residential fabrics, and all these founding geographies produce their own spatial counterparts. Into the gaps of this resulting spatial structure, an almost endless landscape, starting from the foothills of Uludağ, seeps, giving Bursa its unique character. We believe it allows for the creation of a "plain-city" structure.

Traces – Essences, Intentions

* Clues – Searches

Although it has become difficult to interpret our thoughts for Bursa through today's urban framework, we still believe it contains clues. Therefore, before making our urban and spatial decisions, we pursued these traces and essences.

We began by considering how a life could be established within the definition of a "plain-city" with sustainable and rational spatial solutions that also meet the city's current needs.

In this context, we made our initial decisions considering that the founding geographies that make Bursa a "Plain-City"—the hills, streams, valleys, and the continuity of Uludağ—have the power to transform space and life not only in the past but also today. With this intention, we believe that the founding geographies will still constitute the strongest foundation for spatial imaginaries for the city's present and future…

Upper Scale Decisions

* Uludağ-Gökdere Ecological Corridor / Cyclical Historical Continuity

We started with some large-scale decisions because we believe that the "plain-city" discourse needs to be consistent with the geographical elements (hill-stream-valley) that constitute the plain, and that existing urban discontinuities need to be repaired.

We proposed an urban green space complex that would connect the line, starting from Uludağ and descending to the Cable Car Area, to Gökdere, encompassing the competition area as well. In designing this line, we envisioned the need to connect a series of parks and green areas marked in the Implementation Zoning Plan. Accordingly, we proposed an "Ecological Corridor" connecting Uludağ Cable Car Park – Yeni Mahalle Park – Karamazak Park – Historical Namazgâh Park – Karınca Deresi Line – Historical İpek Park and via Boyacıkulluğu Bridge to Gökdere. Thus, we aimed to make the geography that formed Ottoman Bursa visible in today's city.

This ecological corridor... We defined a ‘Circular History Line’ that will function in a superimposed manner. We wanted to conceive this historical continuity as a cyclical line starting from the Grand Mosque in the west and following the axis of Atatürk Street – Setbaşı Library – 1st Yeşil Street – Yeşil Complex – Beyazıd Madrasa – Hocataşkın Mosque – Emir Sultan Complex – Zeyniler Mosque – Muallimzade Bath – Yıldırım Complex – Gökdere – Cumhuriyet Street, ending in the Hanlar District.