Ephesus Cruise Gateway Ephesus, Türkiye / 2010

Set along the Aegean edge near ancient Ephesus, the project reimagines the cruise arrival experience as a layered coastal village where heritage, landscape, and contemporary Mediterranean life converge. Visitors transition from ship to shore along a linear pier that frames long views to the hills and archaeological landscape beyond, arriving into a sequence of shaded plazas, retail streets, and garden courts organized around water and topography.

At the heart of the village, a civic fountain plaza acts as both landmark and living room — a place where travelers pause, cool off, orient themselves, and begin their exploration. Locally inspired paving, architectural relics, and fragments of stone columns ground the space in regional history, while palms, canopy trees, and layered planting create dappled shade and microclimates suited to the coastal climate.

Retail, dining, and entertainment spaces are intentionally porous, blurring indoor and outdoor life and allowing the energy of the port to extend into the public realm. The experience is designed to feel timeless. Rooted in the material language of Ephesus and the eastern Mediterranean, while functioning as a contemporary gateway between global travel and local culture.

Will lead the design of the Master Plan for Ephesus while at LandDesign.