The university is organized as a series of bands that run alongside the steep hillside and are connected by a central perpendicular spine which enables concise distribution and forms a public heart with libraries, refectories, information and study areas.

IZMIR UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMY_ UNIVERSITY

TYPE Education, Masterplan
STATUS Design Development
LOCATION Izmir, Turkey
YEAR 2016-ongoing
CLIENT Izmir University of Economy


DESIGN TEAM Vittoria Bellassai, Andrea Cadioli, Eva Castro, Che Hung Chien, Micol Fronza, Giovanni Carlo Gentili, Mukal Gupta, Ulla Hell, Zengwei Jin, Holger Kehne, Haitao Ma, Valentina Mancini, Giulia Mariotti, Irene Mutschlechner, Edoardo Nieri, Peter Pichler, Wenxuan Qiao, Pietro Scarpa, Qingjun Tan, Yunya Tang, Lingwei Wan, Chuan Wang, Hui Xie, Zhuxi Yao, Bo Zhao, Kyra Zhao

COLLABORATORS  Buro Happold London , PMA (PolyMorph Architects)

This configuration enables a clear hierarchy and orientation, as well as giving identity to the individual parts while fostering chance encounters and a vibrant communal life. Additional synergies derive from scattering semi-public/ leisure activities within the academic environment, so as to create a common strata, to informally encourage social interaction, encounters and proliferation of knowledge across social and disciplinary confines.

The plinth- or podium-clustering: the project adopts a grouping strategy that enables the shared use of academic facilities and strengthens exchange between disciplines. Semi-public recreational areas and spaces for social interaction within the academic environment further reinforce this idea.

By moving beyond the traditional isolation of individual faculties, the project introduces a shared layer where knowledge is distributed “horizontally” through informal interactions among students. The proposal believes in enhancing the built up of novel knowledge and encouraging the practice of trans-disciplinary research.