VitrA Çağdaş Mimarlık Dizisi - Arkitera

The Mogan Lake coastline recreation and nature park project lies on a 400,000 m 2
site located at the southeastern edge of Gölbaşı, Ankara. The project is an urban park
intended to serve the metropolitan zone of Ankara. The major design objective was
to maintain the special ecological balance of the coastline while responding to the
functional intensity of public use. The reed bed and swamp area located at the south
of the site has been particularly preserved, with pedestrian routes making it possible
to experience the natural environment. New functional uses include an open amphitheater,
sports fields, picnic areas, a wedding hall, children’s playgrounds, a toy house,
hill and marina restaurants and administrative offices. The scale of the buildings has
been limited to dimensions appropriate for the coastline, and unity was achieved
through the use of similar materials on the paved surfaces and the facades of the buildings.
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The asymmetrical relationship that the modern individual establishes with nature constitutes
the basis of the proliferation and popularization of open-air recreation activities.
As there is limited time of the weekends, the only possible leisure time within the
increasingly intensified business life, weekend plans are now evaluated as “an intensified
set of activities to be carried out together with the family”. Modern individuals
have started to perceive nature as a destination to be conquered. The transformation
that the modern family institution is going through has also been influential in this process.
The modern family has increased expectations of pleasure and not only rapidly
consumes products and services but also focuses on the consumption of experience.
Different from the spatially undefined recreation spaces of the pre-modern period or
single function picnic areas focused on eating activities, contemporary spaces designed
particularly for recreation activities are expected to offer all kinds of actions, programs
and performances as sets of experiences ready to be consumed.
With its location and unique natural characteristics, Mogan Nature Park has authentic
recreative properties that transcend these ready-made sets of experience. Located
within the Gölbaşı district 25 km to the south of Ankara, Mogan Lake, connected to
Eymir Lake, is one of the most important wetlands of the region and one of the 184
official natural bird sanctuaries in Turkey. Owing to the dense reed areas around the
lake, the area, which houses 201 different species of birds throughout the year, is also
one of the most important bird-watching spots in Turkey. Designed to make the minimum
possible intervention into the natural habitat of the birds, Mogan Lake Nature
Park Project offers a variety of cultural and sports activities such as a 1,000 person
wedding hall, a manege, Mogan Lake Research Center, a 3,000-person amphitheater
and a marina in addition to open recreation, picnic and entertainment areas. With its
programmatic positioning made with respect to the special ecological balance of the
lake shore, specificly developed details and materials in harmony with the nature, the
rich program aligned along the 4 km. coastal promenade showcases the difficulty of
designing in a delicate natural environment as well as what can be achieved when this
is successfully accomplished.
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