Author: OPENACT Architecture Team: Zuhal Kol, Carlos Zarco Sanz, Ozan Önder Özener, Zeynep Küheylan, Ozan Şen, Berna Yaylalı, Banu Gaffari. Consultants: Ceren Hamurcuoğlu (Sociologist), Elif Acar (UX Designer), Mehmet Akbaş (Lawyer) Type: International Two-Phased Urban Design Competition Client: IBB Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Location: Istanbul, Turkey Status: Equivalent Mention Period: October 2020 The unique gravity of Taksim renders the area as the utmost tense and critical space of conflict–a tension zone in the midst of opposing poles and their monuments: shrines of state socialism vs. pillars of neoliberalism; modernist western nation state ideologies vs. orientalist reminiscent of the past; consumerist tourism activities vs. cultural and educational institutes; democratic expression vs. autocratic surveillance; nature vs. urban; car vs. pedestrian; soft vs. hard; … To this end, their dual confrontational stance resembles a chess game where the sole aim is to achieve a checkmate by removing the opponent’s captured pieces. Conflict is an inevitable component of democracy, however, is it possible to channel its energy for negotiation and reconciliation? Subsequently, is it possible to empower the dynamics of Taksim to convert its public sphere from a tension zone of confrontation into a collective table of dialogue?