Terminal Kadıköy – Istanbul, Turkiye
Title
Terminal Kadıköy – Istanbul, Turkiye
Website
Designed by
Tabanlioglu Architects
Image Credit
© Murat Germen
Project Description
Project description provided by Tabanlioglu Architects - Terminal Kadıköy reclaims the long-overlooked area beneath
the Söğütlüçeşme Railway viaduct—one of Istanbul’s busiest
mobility hubs on the Anatolian side—and transforms it
into a vibrant civic spine. Once dominated by transit flows
and residual infrastructure, the site is reimagined as a
contemporary urban commons that reconnects Kadıköy’s
fragmented public spaces and revives its identity as a
multicultural, social, and recreational district.
Located on Istanbul’s Anatolian side, Kadıköy has historically
developed as a diverse urban district connected to the European
side through Kadıköy Pier and Haydarpaşa Railway Station. In the
late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, its waterfronts
and public grounds supported social and recreational life.
Subsequent infrastructure-led urbanization fragmented these
spaces, while recent decades have seen Kadıköy re-emerge as
an active cultural and civic area.
View of Entrance Lounge
Situated beneath Söğütlüçeşme Railway Station—a
critical junction connecting metrobus, metro, suburban
rail, buses, and minibuses and serving approximately
130,000 passengers daily—the project addresses a site
long characterized by poor pedestrian infrastructure
and limited public amenities. Particularly during peak
commuting hours and football matches, the area
remained dominated by transit flows rather than public
life. Terminal Kadıköy responds to these conditions
through an urban-acupuncture approach, targeting this
overlooked zone to restore pedestrian continuity and
reintegrate it into the everyday life of the city.
The project reconceives the viaduct as an active ur-
ban spine. Through a modular, low-impact, and land-
scape-driven strategy, infrastructure is transformed
into opportunity—hosting culture, food, markets, mo-
bility, and social life within a flexible and adaptable
framework. A lightweight industrial steel scaffolding
system supports one- and two-story modular volumes
accommodating shops, studios, galleries, food stalls,
marketplaces, and cultural spaces. Their configuration
responds to existing trees and site-specific conditions,
preserving green assets while enhancing microclimatic
comfort.
