Aegean Region is a special geography for the whole Turkey. İzmir in Aegean region, Urla in İzmir and Bademler village in Urla move such special position to more powerful place. TanUrla located in the middle of 20 km between İzmir Gulf and Sıgacık Gulf by air distance has been designed as a new location in such special position.

We have started with a simple question of” if we had designed a village, what manner would we have adopted?” and formed the main decisions of the location by considering what was traditionally done in the past together with the data of today based on the confidence that we know 15 villages of Urla. We have divided the north part of TanUrla on the way of Gödence into common use areas and opened this area for those who do not live here but wonder about this place just like the regions of traditional villages containing bazaars. There are 278 units consisting of 15 different types in 115 blocks according to the data of dynamic topography of the land. Houses with varied sizes and compositions have a kind of relationship between random and being fictionalized depending on their locations. This concept, as it is in traditional structures, ensures that private life is protected and at the same time, creates basis for a neighborhood relationship developing common life by forming quite different and surprising side spaces. Just like Bademler village where we do not have to pass a main entrance when coming to our house, TanUrla is not a closed “site” but a “kentköy(city-village)” or with a well-known name “settlement.” One of the primary examples of the locations which can be described as “city villages” like “city-states” of Antiquity.

Nevzat SAYIN