LOSEV Çerkeş Natural Life Center

LÖSEV Çerkeş Natural Life Center

a scenario on sustainable living

LÖSEV Çerkeş Natural Life Center, 2013

The project is located on a site divided into 2 different zone by Ulucay River. The northern half, with its central service axis and gridal pattern, provides an optimal zone for farming activities required by the program. The southern half is reserved for accomodation units and experience of the ecological diversity in the zone, taking advantage of the large prairies and the lakes.

Ulucay river and the surrounding landscape of tall trees and vegetation constitute both a physical and a visual barrier on the site. This barrier between the two zones on site provides the origin in the organization of the “purification” process. Guests enter the site from northwest, leaving their cars and the last images of city life in this zone. As soon as the information unit in the northern zone is passed, guests are taken to the southern site, away from audio, visual and physical disturbances. In this sense, the bridge serves as a threshold for purification.

Accomodation units and recreational structures are positioned in a way to save the trees and the natural life on site, at the same time allowing daily activities to be closely related with the ecological diversity and pleasing views around the lakes. The zones of previous buildings on site are re-loaded with new programs on site.

Along with accomodations and recreational units, hobby gardens are also located on the southern zone of the site. The farming grid on the northern half of the site is extended onto the southern zone, which is used to organize circulation and spatial zoning on site. The grid is designed to preserve the trees and fertile zones on site, while creating further potential for planting trees and farming.

Accommodation units and the hotel are located on the side of the first lake on site, where they can benefit most from the views. Art workshops occupy the zone between the second and the third lakes, while individual accommodations are located around the third lake. The first and the third lakes are used by social spaces and accommodation units via piers, while the second one features water sports and model ship workshops. The fourth lake, having access to fresh water, is planned to continue its former duty as a fish farming pool.

Program units are reached through an elevated walkway crossing the site. The walkway begins with the bridge connecting the two halves of the site, and ends as a large pier on the first lake. The ground floors of accommodation units and the hotel along the walkway are raised above ground so as to preserve visual integrity of the site.