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DUNDEE WATERFRONT vs GALATAPORT: WATERFRONT PROJECTS

While the Galataport project continues to be discussed which covers the techniques to be used for the first time in the world, let's examine about the "Dundee Waterfront" project.

Dundee's history begins in the 1190s. At that time, the road to the center of Scotland passes through Dundee, but the period when its main strategic position is determined in Medieval Age. Dundee's in the medieval period, it seems to have an ideal location on shipping sailings to the Baltic and Northern European ports. Within the rapidly developing industry in the 17th and 18th centuries, Dundee is among the world's most important trade ports. In the 20th century, the most key factors that determine Dundee's relationship with the docks are settlements on the north coast of the Thai Road Bridge. Structures built in the 1970s (Olympia Leisure Center, Tayside House etc.) leads to a loss of strategic importance and the coast leaving the city. On top of all, a new plan is needed to attract re-investments to this region and increase the port city emphasis. In 1998, the Dundee Partnership is preparing for a plan to reintegrate the Central Coastal region with the City Center. The plan aims to realize the extraordinary opportunities that can be provided by Waterfront. It has a common vision not only to create a distinctive sense of identity and space, but also to provide a solid framework for investment. After a major consultation work in 2000 and 2001, a consensus emerges. Especially the content and physical form of the project is agreed and thus the plan is approved in 2001 with the Dundee Partnership.
Cover photograph: vam.ac.uk/blog

Plan summarizes the main components of the Central Waterfront project as follows:

+ Expansion of the city center towards the coast,

+ Improved service for walking, cycling and buses

+ Reducing the effect of cars and vehicle parking density,

+ Double-side boulevard afforestation process,

+ Making a new train station and arrival square.

So are these just enough to develop a region? As a museologist, I can recommend you to investigate a review: "Selecting The Former Bankside Power Station for the Tate Museum and the transformation of the region with it". The same logic applies to the Dundee Waterfront project, and here it is: "V&A Dundee."(Dundee branch of Victoria and Albert Museum.) V&A Dundee is the first design museum in Scotland and the first Victoria and Albert museum outside London. V&A Dundee is also the first building designed by Kengo Kuma in the UK. 

The exterior of the museum has several shadows and layers created with numerous horizontal precast concrete layers as a way to express Scotland's cliffs with architecture. In the introduction of V&A Dundee, “Beyond its curved walls, it reunites the city with the beautiful and historic river bank. The museum is at the heart of £1 billion coastal transformation, an ambitious 30-year project that pushes the city towards a better future.” expressions are included. We know that a museum project positively affects and transforms the region where it was founded. The fact that cultural and artistic institutions are at the forefront of development projects is also important for other sectors. The same as here, we can clearly realize when we examine the details of the Dundee Port Project that the V&A Dundee Museum is not positioned by chance.

To summarize: Dundee is the fourth largest city in Scotland and includes major investments with coastal transformation as part of the port project. Dundee Waterfront, as one of Western Europe's most comprehensive and transformative coastal projects and one of Scotland's largest urban developments, it offers opportunities for investors and a wide range of business ventures. The opening of V&A Dundee and Train Station in 2018 has opened the new opportunities more than 7,000 business areas for hotels, businesses and retailers through the Dundee Waterfront project, and they continue to receive goals from the ongoing global transformation of the port project. In the Galataport project, the presence of Istanbul Museum of Modern Art and Istanbul Museum of Painting and Sculpture are pointing out. While Istanbul Modern started to count down for their return to Karakoy, the information they gave in the 'New Museum Building' category on the official website of Istanbul Museum of Modern Art is as follows: "The new building of Istanbul Modern, which will open its doors again in its former location in Karakoy , it is designed by the world-famous Italian architect Renzo Piano, who designed many international art museums and arts institutions. Istanbul Modern's new building, which takes the audience to its center as an international museum including its exhibition halls, workshops, cinema, library, design store, event areas, cafes and restaurants... the museum preparing to welcome art lovers soon." Once upon a time, how the gentrification efforts in the Galata and Pera region have rapidly transformed socially and culturally, we will now witness a project on the Karakoy coastline where we will see its long-term results with Galataport project.

Speaking of gentrification process, just before moving on to the costs and rendering of Dundee Waterfront/Galataport and V&A Dundee/Istanbul Modern projects...

Onay Sozer has a chapter titled 'Interdisciplinary Approach to Istanbul' (p.52) in his book "Art: Invisible In Sight". I would like to briefly convey the part that I struck gold:

"Undoubtedly, the end of the 20th century testifies to an economic-technological development that cannot be compared with its head. But this development is also parallel to the increase in utilitarianism in society. Liberal utilitarianism is integrated with system-benefit, that is the social-economic system. Contradictions of system-benefit are added to the contradictions of liberal utilitarianism. The megacities of the earth have turned into scenes where the utilitarian game is played with great conflicts. Let's take Istanbul as an example: A raid launched by the Anatolian people in the 1960s to get better services. And because of this influx and its conditions, the services cannot be seen in the public interest (speculation etc.) and resulted in it becoming invisible today. Istanbul attracts those who want to benefit from these services to the extent that it collects all services as a concrete system (urbanism) under the sovereignty of the political economy. The result is that the city becomes a village and also never gets a full village. Communities that flock with utilitarianism alone and bring their own cultural-ethnic backgrounds together have turned Istanbul into a battlefield with subcultures and Istanbul high culture. What is the duty of art and artist in the face of all this complex situation? Can art be made in Istanbul? Can art be made for Istanbul?"


GALATAPORT


DUNDEE WATERFRONT



Review and Translation✒️:
Meet The Museologist, Destina Hande Çil (Museologist, Founder of Art & Town, Translation Studies Specialist)
Photographs: V&A Dundee, Hufton + Crow
Projects: 
https://www.galataport.com/
http://www.rpbw.com/project/istanbul-modern

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