Re-collective spaces. Revoking a memory folded into the voids of Balat, Istanbul. A historic residential quarter

Historic center of Istanbul contains many small districts still have the traces of great social and cultural richness together with a long prevailing history. However, it also contains a lot of situations which shows neglect, abandonment, under-management, and misuse. Especially Balat is one of the most peculiar neighborhoods of Istanbul’s historical peninsula. Unfortunately, its powerful character has taken damages over the last century because of İstanbul’s urban and social dynamics that were in constant change and that have affected the area very much. As a result, old Balat’s lively and multicultural social life and authentic architecture gave place to many void spaces today. Because of the increasing number of voids, the district is at the threshold of risks such as going under extreme physical and social decay, or uncontrolled / mismanaged urban transformation and gentrification. That is why it needs an immediate action to rescue this neighborhood. The primary purpose of this study is first to explore deeply, second to highlight better the fading collective memory of Balat in order to reclaim and recover the void spaces for avoiding the risks. At this point, it is crutial to comprehend the urban voids in a systematic and multiscaled way and to explore the modalities for facilitating them for the most immediate needs of the communities. These vacancies carry the potential to respond the public needs in the quickest ways. And with systematic and qualified design criteria, urban voids can be the answer to many problems that the city is facing today.