GAD architecture reveals master plan for sustainable media city

projected to accompany what is to become the worlds largest airport outside of istanbul, turkey, GAD architecture has revealed plans for their their technological, media-based, urban master plan called media city. commissioned by the istanbul chamber of commerce, the project will reflect istanbul as one of the world’s largest growing and innovative cities and demonstrate its foray into progressive media technologies. the resultant master plan functions as a city on a smaller scale, implementing strategies that serve as a testing ground for existing and future urban developments around the world, using media to foster new interactions between visitors and the built environment.

the structures promote new lifestyles and urban designs all the while promoting new media technologies
image © GAD architecture (also first image)

GAD’s media city will provide printing offices and warehouses, retail spaces, stages and halls for live performances, interactive museums and libraries, schools and workshops, and residential amenities, encompassing work, play, education, and retail. media city will serve temporary visitors, workers, and permanent residents alike as a future space that allows guests to explore the past, present, and future of media. to establish the city’s layout, GAD looked at the changing trends in urban design and used historic industrial cities as reference points. the automobile was discovered to be the catalyst for scale and spacing of the grid containing both solid and void, first experiencing an expansion to accommodate the car into the city’s layout and now slowly contracting the grid to phase out the car and promote more human scale interaction. based on this concept and the realization that historic cities are curiously laid out in ways similar to QR codes, the architects developed an algorithm that would establish block sizes and functions and would place them within a larger context to increase social and economical efficacy.

the master plan envisions a new way to live in a city environment
image © GAD architecture

in addition to the social and commercial implications of media city, it will implement the latest green technologies fostering a completely sustainable lifestyle. solar panels and wind turbine will serve as the major energy contributors powering the city, working in conjunction with a low-energy consumption system used within the individual structures. rainwater collection will feed grey water systems and rely less on the grid’s supply while waste management and other service vehicles will be electric powered and function on a highly thought-out distribution network, managing waste in a smarter way. all transportation will be run on renewable energies, removing the need for personal vehicles, and will be organized so that the pedestrian lifestyle will most benefit the individual.

while the city will provide public transport, its design is meant to benefit pedestrians
image © GAD architecture