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Hope Follies

Aslı Kıyak İngin, Beril Özmen Mayer, Huriye Gürdallı

16-18 May 2012

EMU Faculty of Architecture Design Week

Children's Playground
Photo: Workshop Archive

Hope Follies refers to a series of simple structures designed to respond to the socialization needs of residents in the Lower Varosha (Aşağı Maraş) district of Famagusta. The initial workshop was carried out in the garden of Şehit Zeki Salih Primary School, located along the Telboyu axis, which forms the boundary between Varosha and Lower Varosha in the Closed Varosha area of Famagusta. In a district that has long been neglected in urban terms and lacks any form of public space arrangement, the school represents far more for children than a place of lessons, teachers, and notebooks.

The workshop was completed in a short period of two days. The schoolyard, which had almost no play equipment, was transformed into a playground thanks to the enthusiasm, desires, and efforts of the school's teachers, parents, and especially the elementary school students. Economic constraints allowed parents to participate in the process with labor and material support. Construction waste from Eastern Mediterranean University and used car tires collected from industry, as well as pebbles from the garden, sand from the seaside, and red soil from municipal excavations on the opposite plot, were all used in the production process. While elementary school students tried to reveal what their dream garden would look like through their drawings, university students developed various ideas and models. The implementation progressed through the synthesis of ideas and the most economical use of available materials and labor, and remained flexible and open to development and change during the garden's construction.

ASLI KIYAK İNGİN
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