CROSS WORKS - Malatya Re-Housing Masterplan, Turkiye

At the start of 2023, the south-east of Turkiye was rocked by a series of devastating earthquakes, causing huge damage and loss of life. Cross Works small contribution in helping to mitigate the long-term fallout of those earthquakes stands as one of our proudest achievements as a business; not for financial gain, but a philanthropic effort to put our time and skills to good use. Our Founder and Managing Director - Hakan Agca - is of Turkish descent, and by virtue, the work was close to the company's heart.

For those who might have missed it, in February 2023, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck south-east Turkiye and Syria, taking nearly 50,000 lives and devastating families and communities. The Turkish Government and GYODER leaped into action, and we (amongst other architects, engineers and contractors originating from Turkiye) were called days after the quakes and asked to fly to the devastated areas. Within 48 hours of those phone calls, we were walking amongst the rubble and the debris. 

Our mission was to contribute to the re-housing efforts by generating the initial masterplans for some of 20 or so sites designated for development and redevelopment across the region, in more than 5 cities. The task was carried out under emergency conditions; people had lost their homes and were living in tents. The government wanted to re-build quick; they wanted to break ground on new housing projects within months, not decades. This is where our unique skills came to the fore. We laid down numerous masterplans at pace and with rigour. The Malatya masterplan was one of those many masterplans we produced in a matter of weeks. We’ll be there if we’re needed again; Turkiye or elsewhere.

#earthquakes #turkiye #syria #firstresponders #crisismanagement #masterplanning #urbandesign #communities #rebuild #regenerate #redevelop

Watch video here: https://shorturl.at/0Ymjk