This publication is intended as a reference and record of the efforts and process that led to the realisation of Çekmece Community Space. It aims to bring together thoughts, conversations and discussions around the project to help contextualise the project, producing a subjective record. While drawings, details and materials are discussed in the following pages, the content is not intended as a how-to guide for building a structure similar to that of the community space, instead it aims to be a point of reference for those who might embark on endeavours with a similar ethos, whether in similar or dissimilar contexts and scenarios. It brings together opinions and experiences from across the span and breadth of the project, conceptualising them within three broad categories of ‘foundations’, ‘brewing’ and ‘openings’.

The participatory design and implementation of Çekmece Community Space was part of a larger collaboration between Herkes İçin Mimarlık (Architecture for All, HiM), Hatay Deprem Dayanışması (Hatay Earthquake Solidarity, HDD) and Architecture Sans Frontières UK (ASF-UK). The project, titled “Reviving Antakya’s Living Heritage: Community-Led Reconstruction through Participatory Architecture and Planning”, was supported within the scope of the Local Empowerment Support Fund II, implemented in collaboration with the Support Foundation for Civil Society and Turkey Mozaik Foundation.