Two buildings with a large adjacent territory will be located in the ancient port of Yenikapi, discovered in the area of the same name in the historical center of Istanbul in the mid-2000s. The port was used in the 5th – 10th centuries AD, but traces of a Stone Age settlement were also found there.
The find took place during the construction of an underground transport hub, next to which the new structure of Peter Eisenman and Alper Aytach will appear. An archaeological museum is planned there, where 35 ancient ships that once sank in the harbor of Yenikapi and were found only today, as well as transit zones, will be exhibited. What else will occupy the impressive-sized complex, is not yet reported: the project is at the initial stage of development.
Both the buildings and the landscape around them will be lined with Eisenman's favorite rectangular grid of lines. The park will be composed of alternating green and paved areas. It is also planned to include in the space of the park a pier found during excavations from the time of Emperor Theodosius.
The project will be presented to the public at the 14th Venice Biennale as part of an exhibition on the links between Venice and the East in the past and today. The port of Yenikapi on the Sea of Marmara was just receiving and sending ships to Italy, so the plan of Eisenman and Aitach will give the exhibition a modern dimension.
