London’s Foreign Office Architects are redefining the “shopping center” typology in Istanbul; rather than being an isolated world of consumption, cut off from its urban environment, their “Meydan” mall forms a public square in a new part of town, a place of meetings and encounters. The interior of the central European city, evolved over the centuries, is the role model for this new building. The publication documents Meydan’s development – from the international competition among firms such as BRT Architects, Chapman + Taylor and J.S.K. Architects to its construction – and describes the challenges of concept and design through reports and interviews. The developers of this project have taken on responsibility for urban planning and searched for possible answers to the problems affecting the megacity of Istanbul, in which public squares and green areas are few and far between. The resulting architecture blends into Istanbul’s cityscape in a very remarkable way.