Architecture · AD6 Studio · Kucuk Ayasofya, Istanbul
Symphony
A conservatory and music school for a district that once carried music in its streets, architecture as a way to give a place back its cultural voice.
The parti
Kucuk Ayasofya sits between the coast and the historic core, dense with registered structures, among them the Çardaklı Hamam, treated as untouchable. Rather than placing an object on the site, the building regains the district's cultural program by wrapping a conservatory and music school around what is already there, opening passages that pull people from the coast through the site into an interior courtyard.
The process
The form is derived, not drawn, six legible moves: locating the protected structures, moulding to social meeting points, opening and closing against roads and usage frequencies, proportioning heights to the district's silhouette, detailing the courtyard levels, and regaining the full flow through the building. Floor levels differentiate to create a proportional terrace for visitors.
