Uskumruköy, Sarıyer

On a plot with a gradient of roughly eighteen per cent in Uskumruköy, the layout was set into the existing levels rather than flattening the land. The three blocks were stepped so that none blocks the outlook of another; every duplex gained a garden at its lower level and, above, a terrace that does not sit against a neighbouring roof. The soil survey and the slope stability analysis carried out before excavation called for a reinforced concrete retaining wall running one hundred and ten metres along the hillside.

Drainage pipes and filter gravel were laid behind the retaining walls, and a stepped channel system was built so that surface water is collected before it reaches the buildings. The blocks sit on raft foundations with a reinforced concrete frame. Buried walls received liquid-applied waterproofing, while the exterior was finished with rock wool insulation and natural stone cladding. On the terraces an inverted roof detail protects the insulation layer from thermal and mechanical stress. Mechanically, each duplex was connected to an independent heating system; the distribution boards were programmed to drop the common-area lighting to a night setting.

The site was run through the single narrow access road serving the settlement. Two daily time windows were set for the excavation lorries, and those hours were agreed in advance with the families on the neighbouring plots. During wet spells a wheel-washing bay was installed at the exit to stop mud being carried from the slope onto the road. The nine duplexes were not delivered on one date but completed block by block, so the first families to move in were disturbed as little as possible by the ongoing work.