Istanbul Mayor Topbas said they would build a replica of the old Artillery Barracks, and design it as a museum or an exposition center.
Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbas said no shopping center or residences would be built on the site of Taksim Gezi Park, although the area could be used to construct a museum.
Stating that the municipality would not back down from its plan of building a replica of the old Artillery Barracks at Gezi Park, Topbas said “We absolutely do not think of the Artillery Barracks as a shopping center, hotel or residences. The surface would not allow it. We will design it as a museum or an exposition center.”
Topbas stated that the prime minister expressly wanted to reconstruct the Artillery Barracks and added, “We already declared it in our electoral program and our people voted us accordingly. Our prime minister absolutely desires the Artillery Barracks to be built.”
Pointing out that the most of the trees of the park could be incorporated into the project, the Mayor said the architects working on the project proposed that the remaining green area could be connected to the promenade leading to the Cemil Topuzlu Open-Air Theater in Harbiye and to Macka Park.
He also vowed to plant more trees in Taksim Square.
Responding to a question about whether the Taksim Solidarity Platform, which represents the protestors in Gezi Park, would be satisfied with this proposition, Topbas said that they might not have an objection regarding the project.
“They told us that they were against a single building, but they could discuss a project that sees the area as a whole” Topbas said.
The platform members, who began camping out in the park on May 26 to stop demolition efforts, told Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınc on June 6 that their primary demand was the preservation of the park.
