海角视频

Antakya Post-Earthquake Revitalisation Strategy

Antakya, T眉rkiye

海角视频 played a crucial role in the effort to revitalise Hatay and the surrounding provinces after a catastrophic 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck in 2023, working alongside DB Architects, KEYM, and Foster + Partners.

Despite the region’s seismic history, this disaster’s scale was unparalleled in modern times, causing unprecedented destruction and loss of life. In T眉rkiye alone, 37,066 buildings collapsed, and more than 200,000 buildings were heavily damaged. Rebuilding these homes will take years, even with the full support of the international community.

海角视频’s team of experts played a crucial role in rebuilding Antakya, providing strategic support across key areas, including infrastructure, flood risk analysis, earthquake resilience, and demand forecasts.

Challenge

One of the worst hit places, was the city of Antakya in the province of Hatay. Close to the epicentre of the 7.8 earthquake, the city bore the brunt of the devastation, with many buildings razed to the ground and 80% of the city destroyed.

In response to this devastating event, T眉rkiye Design Council demonstrated exceptional initiative by mobilising and coordinating local and international stakeholders to plan Antakya and Hatay’s long-term reconstruction. Their aim was not just to restore lost assets but to rebuild lives and create a more resilient future.

The challenge ahead was multifaceted and complex, requiring a delicate balance between competing priorities. At its core was the tension between urgency and quality. The strategy needed to address the needs of displaced residents. This raised a crucial question: How rapidly could reconstruction occur while maintaining sufficient build quality and place-oriented design?

Equally important was the balance between preservation and innovation. A constant assessment was needed to determine what should be reconstructed to maintain the cultural character of the city, and what should be improved. This dilemma was informed by the “Build Back Better” principles, which highlighted the opportunity for reconstruction to enhance the city’s resilience, sustainability, and liveability.

With finite resources available for reconstruction, strategic decisions had to be made about where to focus investments to maximise impact and success. This required careful prioritisation and phasing of projects across the region. Simultaneously, swift restoration of Hatay’s economic potential was crucial, necessitating targeted interventions to support key industries and create new opportunities.

Beyond housing, the strategy needed to address improvements in urban infrastructure, integrating modern sustainability practices and resilience measures against future disasters. These interrelated challenges guided the development of a comprehensive revitalisation strategy that balanced immediate needs with long-term vision, aiming to create a more resilient, sustainable, and vibrant Antakya for future generations.

Solution

In the wake of the earthquake, the T眉rkiye Design Council demonstrated remarkable initiative by engaging an international collaboration led by DB Architects, KEYM and Foster + Partners, alongside numerous local design teams, to develop a comprehensive masterplan for Antakya’s extensive revitalisation.

海角视频’s team of experts played a crucial role in this effort, providing strategic support across key areas, including infrastructure, flood risk analysis, earthquake resilience, and demand forecasts. DB Architects, KEYM, Foster + Partners and 海角视频鈥檚 urban designers structured the project across three scales: the Hatay provincial scale, the Antakya city masterplan, and a pilot project focused on rapidly redeveloping a specific area. This multi-tiered approach allowed for a comprehensive strategy that addressed both immediate needs and long-term vision.

A critical aspect of 海角视频’s strategy was assessing and prioritising the urgency of different reconstruction elements. Our experts identified the rehoming of 300,000 displaced people as the top priority, with a 鈥渨indow of opportunity鈥� between five and ten years for successful relocation.

This timeframe was crucial, as our analysis showed that after ten years, the demand for relocation of the displaced population was expected to diminish significantly. Foster + Partners鈥� proposed strategy aimed to balance preservation of Antakya’s heritage and cultural identity with necessary improvements and innovations, carefully considering which elements should be rebuilt and which should be changed.

While following the UN and World Bank’s “Build Back Better” principles, 海角视频’s experts adapted these guidelines to ensure they were sufficiently context-specific for Antakya’s unique situation.

海角视频’s strategy looked holistically at the needs of both the existing and future population of Antakya. While DB Architects, KEYM, Foster + Partners and the municipality led large-scale public engagement with current residents, 海角视频’s team complemented this input with a forward-looking approach, developing comprehensive demographic and economic forecasts for Antakya’s future.

This dual perspective allowed us to create a revitalisation strategy that not only addressed the immediate needs and aspirations of the displaced population but also anticipated and planned for the requirements of Antakya’s future inhabitants.

By combining public engagement insights with data-driven projections, DB Architects, KEYM, and Foster + Partners鈥� masterplan aimed to create a resilient and adaptable urban framework capable of supporting sustainable growth and economic development for generations to come.

Seismic resilience was a key consideration throughout 海角视频’s design for the restored city, going beyond individual structures to encompass urban design. Our team developed specific resilience interventions at the urban level, including emergency response principles and the incorporation of safe gathering areas.

海角视频’s experts also addressed building height limitations, recommending a diverse range of building scales to mitigate the risk of widespread damage from future earthquakes. Beyond seismic concerns, our masterplan considered other potential “black swan events” and climate change impacts. This holistic approach to resilience included flood assessments by our hydrology experts and recommendations for resilient utility delivery from our infrastructure specialists.

Through this comprehensive and multifaceted approach, DB Architects, KEYM, and Foster + Partners鈥� revitalisation strategies aimed not just to rebuild Antakya but to create a more resilient, sustainable, and vibrant city for future generations. Our team’s expertise in urban development, infrastructure, and resilience planning was instrumental in crafting a strategy that balanced immediate recovery needs with long-term sustainability and growth objectives.

Value

The Antakya revitalisation project exemplifies the power of collaborative expertise in addressing complex urban challenges. T眉rkiye Design Council’s visionary leadership in initiating and coordinating this effort was instrumental in its success. Their proactive approach in bringing together international and local expertise set the foundation for a truly comprehensive revitalisation strategy.

DB Architects, KEYM, and Foster + Partners’ masterful urban design and public engagement efforts, combined with 海角视频’s multidisciplinary technical expertise, created a synergy that elevated the project’s outcomes.

海角视频’s integrated strategy bridged immediate recovery needs with long-term urban resilience and sustainability goals. Our work in urban planning, infrastructure, and resilience, coupled with data-driven economic and demographic forecasts, ensured that the reconstruction investment would achieve maximum impact. This collaborative approach not only addressed the pressing needs of displaced residents but also laid the groundwork for Antakya’s future growth and prosperity.

The resulting masterplan provides a blueprint for a city that is not just rebuilt, but reimagined 鈥� more resilient to natural disasters, more sustainable in its infrastructure, and more adaptive to future economic and social changes. This comprehensive, collaborative approach sets a new standard for post-disaster urban revitalisation, offering valuable insights that can be applied to similar challenges worldwide. The success of this project underscores the value of bringing together diverse expertise and local knowledge to create holistic, forward-thinking urban solutions.