New Isaura: A Kurdish Homeland

Isaura, a city between mythical tale and historical existence, was built by the ancestors of Kurds thousands of years ago. My design proposal foresees that a group of Kurdish elite, in order to promote the reconciliation between Kurds and Turks, propose an ambitious programme of rebuilding their lost motherland, the city of Isaura, in the Bosporus strait of Istanbul. As a ‘gift exchange’ strategy, the new Isaura will be constructed into a botanical garden and provided to Istanbul as a gift. In exchange, the Turkish government will grant Kurds an opportunity to use the new Isaura to represent a new Kurdish culture of healthy living. The new Isaura is a floating botanical garden of herbs and spices, and equips a water cycle system which can draw energy from the tidal currents in the Bosporus and desalinate seawater for the irrigation of the vegetations.

Dip/MArch, Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London