Eşdeğer Mansiyon, Karloco Living Landscape Competition

Spika Mimarlık tarafından Karloco Living Landscape Competition için geliştirilen “Connected Ridges Loop” projesi, yarışmada eşdeğer mansiyon ödülüne layık görüldü.

Proje, topografyayı yalnızca fiziksel bir zemin olarak değil, sosyal yaşamı ve kamusal ilişkileri şekillendiren aktif bir altyapı olarak ele alıyor. Araziyi dönüştürmek yerine onun doğal eğimlerini ve su sistemlerini tasarımın ana omurgasına dönüştüren yaklaşım, peyzaj ile mimarlık arasında bütüncül bir ilişki kuruyor. Yaşam omurgaları, kamusal alanlar ve ekolojik koridorlar aracılığıyla gündelik hayatın farklı ölçeklerde yeniden tanımlanması hedefleniyor. Su yönetimi, yaya dolaşımı ve sosyal etkileşim aynı sistem içerisinde çözülerek sürdürülebilir ve dayanıklı bir yerleşim modeli öneriliyor. Spika Mimarlık’ın önceki yarışma projelerinde olduğu gibi bu çalışma da doğa, insan ve mekân arasındaki ilişkiyi yeniden düşünmeye odaklanıyor.

Proje Raporu:

CONNECTED RIDGES LOOP
TOPOGRAPHY AS SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE

“A hybrid settlement system where terrain, water, and community spaces shape everyday life.”

Connected Ridges Loop is a settlement model that works with the land rather than against it. Instead of flattening the terrain or imposing rigid urban grids, the project accepts topography as the main generator of spatial organization. Natural contours guide movement, social interaction, and ecological systems, while limited interventions respond only to accessibility and road requirements.

The project is structured around two interconnected systems: living ridges and the valley network. The ridges follow contour lines and create continuous pedestrian routes that encourage walking, gathering, and everyday social encounters. Public life is distributed through small squares, resting terraces, gardens, and transition spaces rather than concentrated in a single center. As people move through different levels, changing views and encounters become part of daily life.

The valley functions as the ecological and social heart of the settlement. Instead of being treated as leftover space, it becomes a shared landscape where water management, recreation, and collective memory coexist. Rainwater is collected through permeable channels, bioswales, planted corridors, and retention basins that reduce flood risk while supporting groundwater recharge. Seasonal water changes remain visible within public space, transforming environmental infrastructure into an educational and social experience.

Housing is organized along terraced contours using principles of minimal excavation and minimal intervention. Transitional zones between retaining walls and residential units include planted strips, wooden walkways, and water elements that improve microclimatic comfort and support neighborhood interaction. Public service functions such as kindergartens, fitness spaces, and elderly care units are accommodated in recycled modular container systems, allowing flexibility, low embodied carbon, and future adaptability.

The mixed-use areas combine residential, commercial, and service programs within permeable block systems organized around courtyards and semi-open streets. Ground floors activate public life with daily functions such as cafés, bakeries, and pharmacies, while upper floors maintain residential continuity. Vehicular circulation is limited to peripheral roads, and parking is placed underground to preserve uninterrupted pedestrian space and human-scale environments.

Rather than a conventional masterplan, Connected Ridges Loop proposes a resilient framework for collective living where water, landscape, and architecture operate as a single ecological and social network shaped by terrain and everyday experience.