Doganbey Guide Complex/Ismail Özalp
Doğanbey Guide Complex is a facility containing Doğanbey Dilek Peninsula National Park Visitor Center and a research building supported with a 12 people capacity of guesthouse. The complex is totally settled into Old Doğanbey Village which is located in Aydın, Turkey with 1261 meters altitude.
The reason why Doğanbey Guide Complex idea emerged is originating from the necessities of the existing visitor center which is insufficient in terms of representing the national park, including Old Doğanbey village, and as a requirement, newly established research center learning from the site, teaching to the visitors. As the concept, the complex is imitated like a guide character learning and then teaching is followed. Main guide character is attributed to the existing visitor center building and new additions are tried to be maintained as lower or at most equal to the height of this building. Building program is configured according to the functions and conceptual concerns in balance. Thus the existing building teaches as a guide and collects information at the database located in the ground floor. On the other hand, newly designed buildings are generally made for researchers who dig the mine and bring out the information. For the upper level, recreational areas for visitors are designed. While doing this, topography of the site is not underestimated and it is also integrated to the process in an abstract way. For the further explanation about the topography, it can be said that the site itself has been changing for thousands of years. From Dilek Peninsula to Didim, the whole land was under water. Time by time, these areas have been filled by earth spontaneously and when we look through the seaside from the Doğanbey village, we can see that there are still reeds at the intersection point of the sea and the coast. Thus, this situation makes us think about the process from the past till today. In the same manner, social areas are tied with this information and turned into abstract topography integrated within necessary functions required for public spaces. In order to make people think about the process and feel the site, Vista point looking through the southern area is designed. Following that, the upper floor follows the level separation until reaching the upper street. On this line, an installation is also designed to tell about the history of the village so that the complex totally makes visitors understand the site. This installation is inspired by the ruined houses located at the western hillside used to be resided by Greek people used to live. As a new touch, the installation made by corten which is also adaptable with the environment which is full of old stone buildings consist of red colored stones with yellow stones.
In conclusion, Doğanbey Guide Complex is designed to answer the necessities listed above and while doing this, it is also carefully implemented the idea that the site is rich in many aspects, from history to topography, and these should be represented as a sculpture itself.
