In İzmir, cultural life remains heavily concentrated in the city centre and along the coastline, despite dispersed yet underused civic spaces and an expanding mobility network. Many industrial heritage buildings stand idle within these spaces, even though several are located near metro, tram, or rail lines (İZKA, 2019). This centralization restricts cultural accessibility and leaves valuable architectural assets disconnected from civic life. To address this problem, the study examines how these buildings could be reclaimed to extend cultural life into wider urban districts by using mobility corridors.
The proposal draws on a strategic reinterpretation of Guido Canella’s didactic prototypes. Originally developed in the mid-1960s as spatial hypotheses to decentralize Milan’s theatrical system, these “formal embryos” were positioned along transportation networks to disseminate and connect educational, civic, and cultural activities (Canella, 1993; Brighenti, 2018). While Milan and İzmir differ in historical context, urban form, and cultural dynamics, Canella’s principle of linking these prototypes to mobility corridors offers a transferable strategy for distributed cultural life in İzmir.
Building on this principle, the study reconsiders İzmir’s industrial heritage buildings, especially those near existing and planned mobility nodes, as latent “formal embryos” within the urban fabric. Rather than treating them as isolated reuse projects, it repositions them as interconnected venues within a wider cultural network, opening possibilities for everyday civic activity as well as larger public events. The aim is to establish a more vibrant, accessible, and decentralized cultural life in İzmir.
Bibliography
- Brighenti, T. (2018). Pedagogie architettoniche. Scuola, didattica, progetto (pp. 340–351). Accademia University Press.
- Canella, G. (1993). Il sistema teatrale a Milano. Dedalo.
- İzmir Kalkınma Ajansı. (2019). İzmir endüstriyel miras envanteri [Izmir industrial heritage inventory]. İzmir Kalkınma Ajansı.
