How Does Architecture Heal?: The AKM as Palimpsest and Ghost

This article follows the demolition of the Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM) in Istanbul to make a case that architecture has historically been a platform for the ruling powers not only to erect their monuments, but also to act out their aggression and erase the past. At the same time, the article posits the AKM as a short-lived exception, due to its construction process as a palimpsest, its potentially participatory stage design, and the temporary radical democratic gesture on its facade that emerged during the Gezi resistance. Detailing the vicious circle of building and demolishing, writing and erasing, the article calls for a shift where architecture could be mobilized for healing from state violence in post-conflict societies.