21st century Student Housing and Student Center

ITU - Istanbul Technical University, Faculty of Architecture - İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi

Project idea

A new way of life in a new university campus of Sarajevo with open and closed spaces combined together by a methodology of articulation and sometimes pixellization. Three buildings creating a continious environment for students to experience a 7/24 vibrant environment. The buildings extends and blend into landscape with terraces. This provide a connection with both the whole campus and with the city of Sarajevo.

Project description

For the master plan, it was always important to connect Sarajevo focal points to each other by the campus area, especially the cultural places. Also being between the new and old sites of the city, the campus is thought as a gathering point for both citizens, foreigners and students. It is an open campus which has no boundries such as walls or gates, the only thing that can be counted as a border is the landscape design which also serves
as an another compelement element for the master plan design. To achieve a strong connection with the city, two squares are identified as the most important open areas of the campus. The one standing in front of the library
building is designed mostly for the circulation between the train station, bus station and the main road on the other side of the campus. The university ceremonies and other formal gatherings takes place here. But the flow of
people during the day in this square was a negative thing for this aim, so an open forum area is designed on a lower level and near the circulation axis of people. By doing this, the events become a thing to glance for people
who passes inside of the campus. Also institute is placed here to have more connection with the city and it faces the city. Other square is placed in front of the monumental buildings to achieve a cultural event square. This area
is created to be a place for cultural activities which faces both the city and the student center. The cultural axis is thought coming from musem zones of the city and growing through the direction of the new site of the city. This
square connects people of the city and creates new opportunities.
The faculties are located in the middle of the campus area, the lineer axis between faculties are preserved from previous master plan design but the locations of the faculties and the form of the buildings are revized to have
a more open areas and to have various spaces inside of the campus. A lineer covering is used behind of the Art faculty for protected open space.
The student center and the student housing are located on the west site of the campus to create another zone different from the faculty zone and the library zone. Student center is directly approachable from the campus entrance and the faculty building’s axis which is coming from the square in front of the library. Student center acts as a bond between students and citizens. The cultural square in front of the center is also used by student center programs. So the city nourishes the student center and center also nourishes the city.
Student Housing is placed on the south-west site of the campus to have a more private space and calmer environment. It also have a connection with student center, mostly visually. Student center and housing is next to
each other to have a program which serves to students night and day. The housing and student center zone living 7/24unlikely facuilties, library and the institute.

Technical information

Student center is the place for exchange of information,that is why an open plan is used between the programs.
All programs are divided by different masses and they connect with an atirum where the auditorium and forum
area is placed. This two spaces have various of events and is a dynamic space all the time. Both on the ground
floor and the second floor people can see and there is always connection between people by this centeral
social space. Also this area opens up to cultural square in the front façade ( entrance ) and opens up to green
square back façade which also serves to housing. The auditorium works on two sides and bonding the green
square to the student center. By this, student center building does not only serves inside but also serves outside.
This also true for the front façade. The loud and physical activity workshops and other workshops are visible and
they extend to the cultural square, The acitivites can take place outsie of the building. The loud workshop mass
creates and wider angle to emphasize the entrance and opens up the ground floor. The entrance directly connected
to the forum area, so the building extends outside. This act of extending only happens on the ground floor because
the programmes on the ground floor have more social acitivities and can be open to public. Fablab is also extending to the faculty side as it is about technology, it also has a façade to the cultural square. Retail zone is located next to entrance and it is open both to public and the students directly from campus the entrance. Exhibition space is
located on a calmer space next to trees, it is designed to extend inside of the forum area If there is an exhibition wants to use more public space
The upper floor of the building has classes and library. The library is also on the calmer corner, the reading areas looking through the green square. Classes are located other side of the floor, there are hubs and more conventinal classes but these ones also have different configuration inside. Student center backs off on this floor and creates green
terraces which are accessible from different rooms. The terraces opens up the building and gives a more cutback façade and creates movements on the façade.
Housing units has two arms, one facing the campus and the other facing the city. The campus arm has guests and faculty members, that is why it is a more little building. The other one is for students and has a bigger space. The building is created to break corridor lined rooms and the corridor become a social space by widening the area and having light from façade. this corridor opens to two type social space; one is the atrium and the other is the terraces. Atriums goes up through all the stories and it is created by different rooms removed on every storey. They opens up to entrances on the ground floor. The only difference is in the campus side, this atrium goes up directly without diffrent configurations like city side. These atriums are both for socializing and studying, there are private zones creates and more open zones. Terraces creates a connection with the city and with the campus, also by creating them, the open green space is accessible from every storey. These spaces also have visual connection with the student center.

The outer façades have pixilized windows which gives hints about student life inside of the housing to the city and to the
campus. Also in the night, the housing creates a different lightned façade with these façade and have an identity both for the city and the campus. Rooms are facing inside of the campus to the green square and student center. The student center is not directly linked to housing, there is a connection building which is designed to serve as a binder . This buildig is levelled down through the landscape to be less visiually disturbing and also having a variable spaces inside and outside. Management is located on this building facing the housing, so it is connected to both the campus and the housing. There is also a cafe for students. More silent study areas are located on this building to seperate from housing’s social spaces. And this building has a steel structure with a gridal axes which can change according to needs of the students. So this modular building is an extension of the housing and creating a buffer zone between the student center and the housing.

Rooms are designed to have more flexible space by a loft design. The living area is on the first floor and the study and sleeping area is on the mezzazine floor. All rooms sees green terraces through landscape and faces green square. Also students can see what is happening in the student center visually all the time.

Co-authors

no co-authors in my project, it is the graduation project done alone