Gulhane Park Memorial Design

Developed for Gülhane Park, one of Istanbul’s most significant historical and cultural public spaces, this monument design reinterprets the relationship between public space, art, movement, and memory through a contemporary design approach. Prepared in 2022 as part of the “Istanbul is Yours – Artworks in Green Spaces Competition,” organized by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) Department of Parks, Gardens and Green Areas, the project was conceived within an approximately 40 m² area. Developed in collaboration between Fi Design Office, Kübra Gider, and Burak Irmak, the Gülhane Park monument design aims to introduce a new layer to the historical setting of the park while establishing a balanced relationship with its existing natural landscape.

The conceptual starting point of the project was the idea of commemorating two individuals who shared a common life, belief, and destiny. Based on this narrative, the monument was conceived not as a static object perceived from a single viewpoint, but as a public art design that changes through the movement of visitors and gradually reveals its story over time. The historical depth, natural landscape, and patterns of public use within Gülhane Park were considered throughout the design process, allowing the artwork to establish a distinctive yet non-dominant presence within its surroundings.

During the development of the Gülhane Park public artwork design, rather than creating a monumental object that would appear disconnected from or visually dominate the existing identity of the park, a more integrated approach was adopted. The artwork was designed to become visible and concealed at different moments within the landscape, changing according to the visitor’s position and perspective. This creates a controlled relationship between the artwork, its natural surroundings, and the movement of people through the park.

At the conceptual core of the project is the zoetrope, one of the earliest forms of animation technology. Derived from the Greek words “zoe,” meaning life, and “tropos,” meaning turning, the zoetrope creates the illusion of continuous movement through a sequence of individual images. Within the zoetrope monument design, this historical principle was reinterpreted at an architectural scale and transformed into a three-dimensional public artwork that can be physically experienced within the urban landscape.

In a traditional zoetrope, sequential images positioned along the inner surface of a rotating cylinder create the illusion of motion when observed through a series of openings. Within this artwork design project, the same fundamental principle was reinterpreted through scale, perspective, and visitor movement. Rather than relying on the mechanical rotation of the object itself, the circular movement of visitors around the installation becomes an essential component of the experience. As visitors change their position, individual images and perspectives gradually combine to complete the narrative.

Through this approach, monument design moves beyond the idea of a static object intended solely for visual observation and becomes an interactive spatial experience shaped by the physical participation of the visitor. As users move around the artwork, they encounter different images, fragments, and perspectives. These individual visual moments are mentally combined into a continuous narrative, making movement, time, and perception as important to the design as its physical form.

The artwork design was also developed in close relationship with the strong landscape character of Gülhane Park. The location of the installation, visitor circulation, approach directions, and changing viewpoints became important parameters throughout the design process. Instead of positioning an independent art object disconnected from its surroundings, the proposal establishes a relationship with existing pedestrian routes and the broader landscape experience. In this respect, the project can also be considered as a landscape design project in which the relationship between public artwork and its natural setting becomes an integral part of the design.

Monument projects located within public spaces inevitably interact with the historical and collective memory of their surroundings. This relationship becomes particularly significant in Gülhane Park, a place that has witnessed multiple periods and transformations throughout Istanbul’s history. For this reason, rather than adopting a formal language that imitates the historical environment, the project introduces a contemporary design approach capable of establishing an abstract dialogue between past and present.

The scale and formal language of the artwork were developed according to the same principle. Particular attention was given to establishing a direct relationship between the installation and the visitor at a human scale. Instead of creating a monument intended to be observed only from a distance, the design encourages visitors to walk around it, experience it from different angles, and discover its narrative through their own movement. In this way, the proposal introduces an alternative approach among contemporary monument designs, making visitor movement an active component of the artwork itself.

Prepared for the competition organized by the İBB Parks and Gardens and Green Areas Department, the project proposes an experimental interpretation of how public artworks can become integrated with landscaped urban environments. The physical presence of the artwork, as well as the movement, changing perspectives, and perceptual experiences generated around it, were considered integral parts of the overall composition. The proposal therefore occupies a position between traditional monument design and contemporary public art practice.

Developed by Fi Design Office in collaboration with Kübra Gider and Burak Irmak, the Gülhane Park monument design proposes an abstract architectural language in which historical memory is communicated through movement and perception rather than through direct figurative representation. By reinterpreting the principles of the zoetrope at an architectural and urban scale, the relationship between visitor and artwork becomes an inseparable component of the design itself.

 

Ultimately, the zoetrope monument design reinterprets one of the earliest techniques of moving imagery within the context of contemporary urban public art design. Positioned among the historical and natural layers of Gülhane Park, the project brings together movement, memory, time, landscape, and perspective within a unified design concept. The resulting artwork design project moves beyond conventional approaches to monument design by proposing an experiential public artwork that gains meaning through visitor movement, integrates with the surrounding landscape, and can be continuously rediscovered from different viewpoints.