What can you do with 120 cubic meters of concrete, 45 tons of steel, and kilometers of cable? Can you build a theater without a stage or seats? Can you dance on hardened concrete? How can a performance hall serve an audience ranging from 10 to 1,000 people? What happens if we paint everything dark gray… and we sought answers to hundreds of such questions while designing and constructing garajistanbul. Some were highly technical questions, such as how blind spots would remain in the ventilation system, while others were so relevant, radical, and perhaps even unasked questions (at least in our region) that they could influence the future of theater, dance, and other contemporary performing arts. The desire and curiosity to find answers to these questions brought us here. In this project, every person involved asked questions and sought answers. “This garage is in a great location, but could it be turned into a theater?” “What should a contemporary performing arts venue look like?” “…the project isn’t bad, but how will the costs be covered?” “Will we be able to find enough supporters?” “What’s that swimming pool?” “How will the ‘sewer’ problem be solved?” “Should we create an email group?” “What will make this space unique?” “How will this work with water everywhere?” “This ironwork seems too big—will it work?” “When will we open the space?” “Will the space be ready in time?” “Will there be an opening tonight?”… This list could go on and on. We don’t think the questions will ever run out or be fully answered. When we were working on Garajistanbul, we didn’t know exactly what kind of product we would end up with. Today, we understand that we weren’t designing a product but the process in which the product exists, and the project will never be finished. (Oh no!)

When designing and constructing Garajistanbul, we aimed to create a comfortable, flexible, neutral, and functional space that could accommodate contemporary performance art. We drew inspiration from the garage that hosted these events. To us, a garage was a place where music was made, inventions were created, and mischief was committed, and we loved this analogy. The name Garajistanbul is not because the space is located in an old garage in Istanbul, but because the space is—and will be—a garage. The space should be a place where games are played, dances are performed, inventions are made, and mischief is committed. This inspiration led us to the physical space we have today. In a way, we took the garage, renovated it, added the technical and comfort amenities required for a performance space, and presented it to users—and we continue to do so.

When we think of Garajistanbul as a performance art venue, we believe that the most important issue we face today is that of the “neutral space.” This was a topic of discussion that guided us as space designers in shaping the entire project. We had to both design and solve, but also hold back as much as possible and not show what we were doing. Both the envelope and the content were important, but people would come to the garage to watch the performance taking place inside, and the space should always remain a few steps behind the actions unfolding within it. We set out with the belief in a “neutral space” for all performance-based arts, and we still hold that belief today.The venue should be the support, foundation, and platform for the action taking place within it, not the decor. The decor was an element of the performance and could be changed. If the space became part of the decor, wouldn’t it start to take sides… We decided to leave the space empty. We built the essential spaces such as the restroom, ticket office, and backstage; we used all the intermediate spaces such as the stairwell and set top as storage areas where the space’s memory would be preserved; we poured concrete on the floor; we made cuts to prevent cracking; we turned the firewater tank into a pool; we installed a grid on the ceiling to support all the lighting, cables, decorations, and performers, ventilated and climate-controlled it; we took acoustic measures on the walls and ceiling to ensure good sound quality; we installed the windows and frames; we painted, illuminated, and opened the doors… simply out of curiosity…

Cem Yücel

About the Post

Garajistanbul was designed, built and opened in 2005. It has been an iconic venue for Istanbul performing arts and later music scene for over a decade. Unfortunately the venue closed down in 2018 and no longer exists.

The above article was written in 2007 by Cem Yücel for the Garajistanbul magazine “gist”s first issue.

A copy of the magazine article can be read here! in Turkish

You can also visit Garajistanbul project page here!