AMASRA HISTORIC HUB

AMASRA HISTORIC HUB
 

Küçük Liman Street rises with a gentle, continuous slope toward the Western Gate. Before entering Amasra Castle through the Western Gate, a welcoming platform is created where visitors can obtain information about both the town and the castle. The narrowing triangular portion of the site is preserved as landscaped open space. This allows visitors to perceive the castle gate beyond a low landscape from the very beginning of the street. Walking along the gently sloping street (approximately 8% gradient), accompanied by the landscape, visitors arrive at a level platform. Here, exhibition elements present the history of Amasra. Information about the castle is integrated into the ground plane in front of the castle wall. The staircase leading to the outer fortification wall (hisarpeçe) and its surroundings are emphasized through a consistent palette of materials and architectural detailing.

Upon entering through the castle gate, visitors encounter two amphitheater-like seating areas. The lower amphitheater is embedded into the natural topography beneath the gate tower, providing a calm setting, relatively sheltered from vehicle and pedestrian noise, suitable for longer gatherings and events. At its lower level, a scale model of the town—designed in reference to the historic well that occupies an important place in the city's collective memory—is positioned as a focal point. The upper amphitheater, by contrast, accommodates brief meetings and short waiting periods. Its retaining wall screens the adjacent guesthouse building, establishing a clear public edge for the space.

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Amasra Castle embodies over two thousand years of urban history through the coexistence of massive Roman ashlar masonry, Byzantine brick bands, Genoese coats of arms inserted between them, and more recent, often insensitive additions. Within this layered and hybrid fabric—where stone appears in many different forms—the new intervention also speaks through stone. However, through its color, scale, and detailing, it expresses a distinctly contemporary architectural language. White natural stone surfaces create a calm and restrained backdrop within the existing richness of masonry textures, while presenting a character that is solid yet refined, in contrast to the lightweight structures commonly introduced in similar contexts, and more in harmony with the spirit of the castle.

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The red brick paving that characterizes much of Amasra's historic town center continues up to the Western Gate. Upon reaching the entrance platform, it gives way to white natural stone, marking the threshold between the town and the castle. To reinforce this transition, the paving material changes from the main gate onward. The existing concrete paving blocks are replaced with natural split granite, whose character is more compatible with the historic setting. The contrast between split and smooth stone finishes clearly distinguishes pedestrian routes from vehicular circulation.At a broader urban scale, the project also proposes a set of guiding principles for paving materials throughout the castle precinct, as well as for the junctions between buildings, castle walls, landscape elements, and public spaces.