According to Kostof (1991, 1999), the public space has become a common ground, where people can perform their functional and ritualistic activities in their daily lives or periodic activities, connecting the individuals thus the society. When we look at the relationship between the streets and open spaces from the first city founded by human kind to the present day, we can observe an effort to create healthy and useful spaces for the society, which had been founded to perform the necessary and desired activities in the cities. 

Surrounded by Anafartalar-Ali Hikmet Paşa Streets and Tavanlı Pınar-Martı Cami Streets, this land is located in a region where the human mobility and activities are highly intense. In line with this, the direct connection of land with an active and dynamic public atmosphere existing in this region and the current public mobility to be maintained with the design proposed have been taken into consideration while making design for this place; and therefore the design ha sbeen shaped accordingly. Within this direction, three lines including the square in the east of the land, Kazım Özalp Street to be rehabilitated and Tavanlı Pınar Street in the west of the land will meet each other in a common area by intersecting them on a structure to be placed on the land, by means of corridors to be opened within that structure. So that a completely private space will be transformed into a semi-private space and become not only a point that can be used by the people who have a one-to-one relationship with this building, but also can be used by public in their whole daily life.

The continuity between urban spaces and ease of transition from one space to another are considered to be very important particularly for pedestrian access. The main objective in urban transport is to provide free movement of pedestrians and to facilitate access to urban activities. In this approach, within this mass by means of which different directions will intersect each other through corridors to be opened; the east and north frontiers of the land will be connected to each other with ground floor and 1st floor entries, a big hole to be opened in the 1st floor and vertical circulation elements placed into this hole. Thanks to this approach, with the form the building possesses, the public mobility it feeds and the pedestrian flow provided between different directions have been strengthened.

Around these connecting axles, 40 shops open to people's access have been designed and 125 commercial offices which are thought to be more suitable far away from pedestrian movements have been placed in office blocks rising in the vertical direction. The main mass of the building, rising with office blocks, has reshaped itself with the breaking of the facade at different angles and the breaks from the mass at certain points in order not to adversely affect the visibility of the registered historic buildings around the land.

Having all these features and composition, Balıkesir Trade Center building has been designed as a part of the existing structures around and the human mobility providing fluency around all these structures, and has been designed by taking into consideration of all afore mentioned.

IMAGES-COURTESY-OF-PROJECT DESIGN GROUP