“Dragos Promenade” is a result of a Limited Architectural Competition launched for the development of a new commercial, cultural and residencial Urban Center in the old Maltepe-Dragos Industrial Zone. The project, situated within the boundaries of the City of İstanbul and Maltepe Municipality, has a very high potential due to its central location. It is surrounded by TTCD Railways and a main arterial road on the East, the Bülbül River and Dragos Hill on the South, and the Coastal Highway and Marmara Sea on the West.
The concept of ‘integration’ has been adopted as a starting point for the urban design for the whole of the site, which consists of 7 sub-zones. This does not, however, preclude every sub-zone from being able to be constructed individually after the common legal
substractions have been made.
The ‘interface’ of the project area and the texture of the environment nearby is conceived and emphasized as an ‘urban meeting space’ that is a linear structure containing commerce-shopping, entertainment, service, culture and recreational functions which will keep the area dynamic day and night. The buildings have a linear character and are typically positioned in the North-South direction, in order to provide openings towards the coast especially with regard to the interfaces formed with the surrounding urban texture.
The variation of program in the whole project, such as housing, residence, office, and retail, will be resolvable according to demand by means of the ‘flexibility’ provided with the chosen grid system and vertical circulation solutions. In this sense, the launch of “Dragos Promenade” is intended to emerge as a signifi cant attraction point and a new city center on the Eastern Coast of İstanbul that is bustling with life 24 hours a day.
