A solar panel that had reached the end of its useful life at the Eurasia Tunnel operation was transformed by artist Dr. Işıl Eğrikavuk into a living garden and dialogue space under the name 'Together: Dialogue Circle.'
According to a statement from the company, the panel, which was repurposed instead of being discarded as waste, gained its new identity following a workshop that included employee participation. During the workshop, the shared intentions for the artwork and the plants to be used in the installation were determined together.
The project aims to give the panel, which once contributed to clean energy production, a new function as a meeting point that inspires ideas of sustainability, creativity, and circular living.
Dr. Işıl Eğrikavuk noted that the artwork is the product of a process carried out together with Eurasia Tunnel employees, saying, 'The project repurposes a solar panel that has reached the end of its life, transforming it into a shared meeting space that encourages conversation, encounter, and collective thinking. This artwork changes over time, grows, and continues to live through the stories of the people who use it.'
Eurasia Tunnel Deputy General Manager Murat Gücüyener stated that sustainability is not only about energy efficiency and carbon management, but also includes rethinking the life cycle of resources and adding new value to materials that have reached the end of their useful life.
Gücüyener noted that they see the damaged solar panel not as waste, but as the beginning of a new story, saying, 'The transformation of a panel that once contributed to clean energy production into a living garden and dialogue space that brings employees together and encourages collective thinking shows that sustainability is nourished not only by technical solutions but also by creativity, collaboration, and inspiring ideas.'
The Eurasia Tunnel's operations building was designed to achieve LEED Gold certification, and all of its electricity consumption is met from renewable sources. Greenhouse gas emissions are calculated according to the ISO 14064 standard, maintaining the project's carbon-neutral status.
At the opening ceremony, employees planted seeds together around the artwork. The space is planned to become a garden and dialogue center that grows over time and continues to live through the contributions of employees.
Dr. Işıl Eğrikavuk, who works in the fields of performance art, dialogue-based art, and artistic research, is among the co-winners of Turkey's first contemporary art award, the Full Art Prize. The artist's project 'The Other Garden' at the Berlin University of the Arts is defined as a shared learning space focusing on the relationships between art, ecology, and collective production.
