Gulf Construction Online - Cultural concept

Turkey

The Selcuklu Congress Centre ... a rendition.

Cultural concept

01 August 2013

A CULTURAL centre that will pay tribute to the rich heritage of Konya, the historical capital of the Anatolian Seljuk Sultanate and the Karamanids, is currently taking shape in Turkey.

Designed by the award-winning Turkish architectural practice Tabanlioglu Architects, the Selcuklu Congress Centre aims to give pride of place to the legacy of the city located in the central Anatolia region which was home to Mevlana Celaddiin-i Rumi, a 13th century Muslim saint and the founder of the Sufi tradition, as well as other key personalities.

“The lack of a befitting cultural centre is what motivated the Konya Selcuklu Municipality to establish a multi-use urban structure that will host all kinds of social activities including the annual Sufi Sema rituals (dance of the Whirling Dervishes),” says Murat Tabanlioglu, who leads Tabanlioglu Architects in partnership with his wife Melkan Gursel.

The concept of the building is based on a contemporary reinterpretation of a kulliyyah (college) open to all citizens, a meeting centre open round the year for social and cultural activities.

The centre is being built over a 24,464-sq-m site and will offer a built-up area of 30,000 sq m. It is expected to be a hub, transforming its neighbourhood into a cultural, art and social hot spot.

The building houses a 2,200-seat concert/congress hall, an 800-seat theatre, a 1,000-capacity ballroom, mini-cinemas, workshops, smaller meeting and VIP rooms, cafés and restaurants. Under its gigantic roof, the complex enfolds separate ‘boxes’ that will facilitate various functions and performances each linked to the other via their lobbies, to ensure flexibility and greater interaction.

The congress centre ... venue for the annual Sufi Sema rituals.

The building is pedestrian-friendly, featuring walkways from all sides. Access to the building by car is from the rear, where a 9,500 sq m car-park is located.

The external façade echoes the Seljuk heritage while shielding the building from direct sunlight. The stylised geometric metal motifs used for the façade are derived from original Anatolian Seljuk forms and the nomadic culture.

“The façade is aesthetically pleasing and resistant to climatic influences, while allowing light to diffuse through the embroidery of the mesh, generating a play on light and shadow in the interiors,” says Gursel. “The welcoming ambiance of the building is enhanced by a large screen above the main entrance piazza that draws the attention of passersby.”

“The building’s open character is enhanced by the vast opening designed as the entrance from the main road as well as a small piazza area fronting the entrance,” she says. “The centre aims to welcome diverse social groups at all times for various activities.”

The building will host scheduled performances, exhibitions as well as regular educational workshops as well as wedding receptions.

The project is scheduled for completion in January 2015.

The Selcuk Ecza Holding headquarters ... designed by Tabanlioglu Architects.

Tabanlioglu Architects, which has a number of awards to its credit, has this year emerged as the winner of Mipim AR Future Project Awards under the Big Urban Projects category for its design of the Yenikapi Transfer Point and Archaeo Park Area in Istanbul, as well as the finalist for its Loft Gardens and Bodrum International Airport in the Architizer A+ Awards.

The practice, which has designed the Istanbul Sapphire, the tallest building in Turkey at 261 m, also cites an example of a highly unconventional design it has created for the headquarters of Selcuk Ecza Holding.

Located in Istanbul, the building is currently nearing completion on the Asian side of the city.

The owners of this pharmaceutical company are an elderly couple eager to create a homely atmosphere within their office – hence the reference to residential settings, namely the traditional Istanbul waterside mansions, says Tabanlioglu.

The project, which encompasses a built-up area of 22,900 sq m, sits over a 9,050 -sq-m site.

“The campus is like a small county settlement – a juxtaposition of seven home-like volumes with hipped roofs. The individual ‘houses’ integrate either through gardens, roof gardens, upper or lower patios and paths and atriums. The brown colour of the exterior conjures a soft wood effect and unifies the structure,” he says.

The Selcuk Ecza Holding features all-transparent sides.

Reminiscent of modern villas, the buildings allow daylight to permeate into the spacious interior space through the roofs and the all-transparent sides. In fact, thanks to the wide windows and the atriums, even the interior areas of the basement floor receive diffused daylight.

To provide a balance of light and shadow and to increase the efficiency of passive climate control, the building volumes are enveloped in a designed mesh system.

The structure is five storeys high of which three levels are dedicated to office space. The main entrance to the building is at the ground floor level accessed via a bridge, while bridges on the sides link the roof terraces. The atriums and interior gardens create social zones between offices that are located on the ground floor.

The top floor of the structures is the executive office level for managers and partners and includes elegant dining halls, activity rooms and VIP lounges. At two ends of this floor are mezzanine duplexes, constructed to offer a ‘private world’ for both the partners.

Car-parking facilities are located on two basement floors – the first level of which is at the sunken garden level.