Flow Forward: A Time-Traveler's Kit to the Hydrospatial Istanbul 

In this 14-week workshop, we aimed to intricately weave the past, present, and speculative future of Istanbul's iconic cisterns and underground structures, guiding visual communication design students through discovery and creativity. Our focus was on some of the most historically significant cisterns: Yerebatan Sarnıcı, Şerefiye Sarnıcı, Fildamı Sarnıcı, Binbirdirek Sarnıcı, Gülhane Sarnıcı, and Kırmasti Sarnıcı.

Students embarked on an explorative mission to unveil the historical and cultural contexts of these ancient reservoirs, transforming their findings into a visionary travel kit. This kit will not only encapsulate the rich heritage of these sites but also project their potential futures through the lens of speculative design. The narrative of the kits reimagines these cisterns as innovative spaces of the future, segmented into thematic zones: data centers, future craftsmanship, biotechnology, future agriculture, and future mobility. Each zone, representing a distinct cistern, was envisioned as a dynamic hub of places, objects, machines, and robots, deliberately devoid of human presence to challenge conventional perceptions of space and technology.

This workshop was designed to stretch the boundaries of traditional design thinking, encouraging students to creatively fuse historical insights with futuristic possibilities, resulting in a travel kit that not only serves as a conduit between eras but also as a testament to the enduring legacy of Istanbul's subterranean wonders.

During the workshop period, we invited artists/designers such as François Joseph Lapointe, HCM.NETX and Davut Yücel for lectures and workshops.

The workshop was hosted by the Visual Communication Design Department, at Yeditepe University between March and June 2024.

Participants: Doğa Adalar, Alara Antil, Enel Işık Su Argun, Murathan Arıkan, Alara Arseven, Zeynep Ece Aydın, Merve Cangir, Mehmet Yiğit Çakır, Melih Bora Cengiz, Yahya Emin Daldaban, Birce Develioğlu, Osman Efe Divrengi, Helin Düzgün, Ece Elvin Emener, Arda Erkumru, Derya Zeynep Eroğul, Yusuf Efekan Eviş, Serra Nur Ganioğlu, Ali Kartal Görücü, Zeynep Ece Güner, İpek Gürer, İrem Güven, Buse Bensu Güzelmansur, Alara Işıklı, Sude Kaya, Ege Kalender, Yiğit Key, Nazire Aybeniz Koç, Şevval Koçak, Melisa Koşun, Doğa Küçükazay, Cansu Özbek, Gamze Özgen, Deniz Bora Özkan, Esat Halit Pakyürek, Hilal Şahin, Alya Salancı, Müge Savaşeri, Tuğba Şirin, Başak Soysal, Selin Taşkın, Yeliz Teker, Sedat Can Tuncalı, Ecem Tunçer, Umut Ulusu, Nur Türkan Ünal, Berkay Derviş Yaldız, Ferhat Yuşa Yiğit, Doğukan Yıldız, Yasemin Yıldız