‘havvada island’ by studio dror, inanlar, turkey image © studio dror all images courtesy of studio dror

upon the proposed removal of one billion cubic meters of soil to open a canal through istanbul, the construction company inanlar proposed to use this displaced earth to create a new land, an island which serves as a revolutionary system of progressive living for the future located off the coast of istanbul. ‘havvada island’ is designed by new york-based practice studio dror, a result of a series of conversations with experts including the buckminster fuller institute, buro happold and shoji sadao. the project’s general form consists of six green-covered mountains supported by large internal geodesic domes ranging from 230 to 400 meters in height that integrate directly into the form’s substructure, with a structural net draped over the spherical volumes. the island’s diameter measures three kilometers wide with a one square-kilometer downtown area which houses recreational parks and venues as well as meeting areas. each hill-like module is self-sufficient and completely autonomous in energy production and recycling, creating a net-positive eco-system. ‘havvada island’ is the synthesis of buckminster fuller’s structural innovations and ebenezer howard’s garden city.

a circulation grid of personal rapid transportation and cable cars directly links each hill to each other in addition to the downtown in an efficient manner, due to the circular layout. each massive mound is based on a specific function, such as a museum, education or sports arenas, and features the specific social activity in the center of the dome, easily accessible by the rest of the community. the residential sectors wrap the outside of the mountain-sized cupolas to provide natural light and views to every resident and equal access to communal functions. the result is a three-dimensional horizontal urban grid, not only arranging the components of a city based on a two-dimensional vertical layout, but now adding the element of depth and height to explore the consequent advantages.

promotional video video © studio dror

the project will be the new home to 300,000 residences that would be attached to the dome structure using the quadror, a structural support innovation that implements the forces and efficiency of the triangle’s geometry in its four lateral sides. this construction reduces dead weight and increases the possibility for windows and light-filled spaces. see designboom’s earlier coverage of the quadror structural system for an in depth view here.

view from the mainland image © studio dror

bird’s eye view image © studio dror

six specialized public nodes in the mountains image © studio dror

residences sit on terraces along the hillside image © studio dror

community space in a hill image © studio dror

community space image © studio dror

night view image © studio dror

natural landscape of lights image © studio dror

concepts for the hills image © studio dror

organization of geodesic domes image © studio dror

sustainable sustainable features image © studio dror

six different nodes provide community civic spaces image © studio dror