Istanbul: The Latest Architecture and News

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A marketplace is typical for most Turkish city districts. They provide a point of cohesion for the community, acting as an economic hub, a landmark, and an impromptu park. In the rapidly developing Sultangazi district of Istanbul, however, such a public place has yet to be seen. To remedy this, Suyabatmaz Demirel Architects have recently proposed a combination market hall and car park for the middle of this populous residential area.

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Grimshaw, Nordic Office of Architecture (Oslo) and Haptic Architects (London) have released details on what is expected to be the world’s busiest airport terminal: Istanbul Grand Airport. Planned for the Black Sea coast, just 35 kilometers outside the city, the six-runway development, masterplanned by Arup, will serve as a modern gateway to Istanbul and Turkey.

The first of the project’s four phases is slated for completion in 2018 and will serve 90 million passengers per year. Once all phases are complete, the airport’s capacity will expand to over 150 million annual passengers, making it the world’s largest airport terminal under a single roof. 

“The Istanbul Grand Airport will be a modern, highly functional airport, with a unique sense of space,” described Nordic. “The airport is inspired by what makes Istanbul great: a large-scale, heaving metropolis with millennia of history, stunning architecture, both new and old, and a richness in color, patterns and quality of light.”

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The İstanbul Foundation for Culture and Art (İKSV) has announced Turkey’s first-ever participation in the Venice Architecture Biennale: “Places of Memory.” Comprised of the work of five contemporary Turkish artists, and curated by architect Murat Tabanlıoğlu, the pavilion will aim to illustrate how a variety of 20th century architectural styles eventually evolved into a singe style throughout most of the contemporary world.

Ziya İmren Architects has recently won an invited competition for the design of the Beykoz School complex in Istanbul. The firm’s winning proposal distinguished itself by embedding its layout within the steep site’s natural surrounding and organizing school as a “cascading” hierarchy of spaces.

KPF has unveiled what will be their first project in Turkey: a pair of 40- and 46-story towers that will serve as the new headquarters for the country’s largest and oldest financial institution. The Ziraat Bank Headquarters will be the centerpiece of the new Istanbul International Financial Centre (IIFF), encompassing over 400,000-square-meters of office space and inspired by the site’s rich architectural context.

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Following a competitive interview process Grimshaw, in partnership with Nordic Office of Architecture, has been appointed by the Turkish consortium of Cengiz, Mapa, Limak, Kolin and Kalyon to design the terminal complex for Istanbul New Airport.

Located on the Black Sea coast, some 35km outside of Istanbul, the ambitious six-runway development, masterplanned by Arup, will be delivered in four phases. The first phase will open in 2019 and aims to serve 90 million passengers per year. This will increase to 150 million passengers per annum once fully complete. The new airport will include the world’s largest airport terminal, with a gross floor area close to one million square meters.

Arkitera Architecture Center is an independent architecture center that has been dedicated to sustain a better architectural practice, enhance the architectural culture and to raise the architectural quality in Turkey.

ARKIMEET, one of the brands created by Arkitera Architectural Center, is developed as the most significant meeting platform among the architects in Turkey. With the motto "ARCHITECTS MEET in ISTANBUL", the event will comprise national and international conferences, panels and award ceremonies to honor individuals and institutions which contribute to the improvement of the urban quality. In addition to these activities and awards, it is aimed to provide opportunities to establish one-to-one connections among the participants and providing appropriate meeting occasions.

This year speakers include Julien de Smedt, Durmuş Dilekçi, Anne Marie Galmstrup, and Josep Lluis Mateo among others.

Complete information after the break.

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Grimshaw just announced that they have been selected by the Vehbi Koç Foundation to design Koç Contemporary, a new contemporary art museum in Istanbul. Due to open to the public in 2016, the new project has been conceived to fulfill the Foundation’s vision of showcasing the growing Koç collection to the broadest possible audience and to place these works in a national, regional and international context of contemporary artists. More images and architects' description after the break.

In an effort to protect Turkey’s historic skylines from uncontrolled urbanization, the Turkish Parliament has passed an amendment that would grant zoning authority to the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization as well as set up an aesthetic architectural commission.

More after the break...