Considering the themes of the competition 'Korea,' 'War,' and 'Memorial Function' the primary concepts that come to mind within the scope of the project are 'Separation,' 'Dichotomy,' and 'Polarization.' The proposed project aims to develop a planning model that conceptualizes these ideas through the 'contrasts' that communities possess politically, economically, and socially. It focuses on the issue of how constructed walls bring both physical and mental boundaries, turning spaces into areas of conflict.
In this context, the concept of a 'buffer zone' areas between existing borders/walls in cities or regions that are neutral and belong to no one is of particular importance. In the planning model, the space between two masses with different physical and spatial characteristics becomes the central focus of the project. Metaphorically, these masses represent two opposing poles, while the in-between space is abstracted as the aforementioned buffer zone. At the street level, a Memorial/Ceremony Area is designed, while directly beneath it, at the underground level, a Permanent Exhibition Space is positioned. This approach ensures that contrasts such as North-South, War-Peace, and Division-Separation vs. Unification materialize into spatial and architectural elements, allowing the primary/central functions requested in the competition to be defined within the buffer zone.
Although the project masses are perceived at the architectural scale, the fact that the project is entirely detached from the urban and built environment suggests that it is, in essence, a landscape project. From an urban design perspective, elements such as Garden Walls, Water Features, Seating Elements, the Ceremony Area, and Primary Circulation Routes (entrance ramps) are envisioned as layered and spatialized walls of varying heights and widths that define 'boundaries.'
The project prioritizes the axis extending from the city and aims to entirely differentiate the perception of Pınarhisar Road from Hamitabat Road. However, the designed duality is intended to be unified through the social interactions in the Ceremony Area (Buffer Zone), strengthening its perception. Within the project, Pınarhisar Road is designed as rigid and solid, while Hamitabat Road is perceived as transparent and absent. The approach from these two roads leads visitors through ramps designed to break the main site orientation, making them feel confined between two walls before descending to the lower level. There, an atrium and skylights opening from the ceremony area aim to create a spiritual atmosphere, guiding visitors toward the Foyer, Event Space, and Permanent Exhibition Area.
At this point, one of the key functions of the project, the Temporary Exhibition Hall, is envisioned as a dynamic space that enhances the vitality of the entire facility. This space extends into an Open Temporary Exhibition, defined by a light structure, helping to frame the Ceremony Area and becoming an exceptional vertical architectural landscape element beyond the standard competition scope. This Open Temporary Exhibition Space operates solely from the underground level, offering visibility to the exterior but remaining inaccessible. It is designed with green elements at different elevations, creating an experience of the Ceremony Area’s perception, resembling war remnants, and incorporating industrially structured loopholes.
In the main design approach of the project, both at the landscape scale, designed both at building scale and in interior design. The feeling of being trapped between two walls is reflected in the project mass. perception; The facade of the mass on the Pınarhisar Road side is linear. It expands to include one of the trees in the project area. on the front in order to strengthen its perception in both ways. It was strengthened by drilling a hole, showing it and symbolizing it. has been made. This symbolizes the perception of people approaching from afar. The tree is located on the human scale of the project area, entrance ramps and The collapse that defines the Ceremonial Area is repeated in the courtyard, creating interior and exterior connections. It was considered to provide a consistent fiction between the blood patterns.
Solidity-lightness aimed to be achieved in the project; like dark and light contrasts are found in materials chosen outside of spatial features (Natural stone-deaf, Industrial material-permeable duality) is also emphasized.