Turkcell Kozyatagi New Headquarters Proposal

Project Year: 2005

Location: Kozyatagi, Istanbul, Turkey

The concept office is not only an architectural project but also a research project. Its purpose is to provide -in fact, to be- a laboratory for new working concepts and construction technologies. The project also offers a new model for organizing work areas, proposing indistinct boundaries between private and collective activities and intermingling of working and living areas. Within the context of anti-zoning which is, contrary to the conventional approach of zoning office spaces, can be defined as the non-specialization of areas according to a single predefined function. The concept office is designed with the principle that the whole space is a production area through the interconnection and transition of spaces. From a social and environmentalist point of view, the concept office provides a flexible architecture that is continuously open to novelties and renovations and can predict the future. Within this context, Turkcell concept office is made up of three main elements:
Outer Shell: this is the architecturally and structurally predefined main element, the “envelope” of the building. It’s a sheath that permeates light and air, that breathes. It produces part of the energy through photovoltaic elements that the building requires according to weather conditions thus it is like an organic skin for the inner space. The design of the shell symbolizes a communication network, both by its structure and geometric form of an ellipse defined by the two focus points which represent two individuals in dialogue.
Inner Street / Agora: The Turkcell building offers a rich and different area for collective living. The inner street/agora on the ground floor, lying as an axis of the building, is an extension of the “public space” consisting of: boutiques, kiosks, cinema, bistro, library, restaurant, exhibition hall, art objects, sports, and entertainment centers, etc. The public use of the agora infiltrates to other floors through multipurpose (conference, seminar) halls.
Office Plateaus: Office plateaus circle the street area in the middle with two main bodies parallel to each other. The modular light steel structure enables maximum flexibility and adaptability to a new organization of space following the needs and necessities arising in time. Contrary to the architecturally and technologically predefined shell structure, interior space arrangements of the office plateaus are open to the participation of users and can be modified according to the changing conditions which is a vital concept for the project.
In concept office, boundaries between public and private spaces are vague and indistinct to create a continuity between the city and the office. This continuity is desired to enrich collective living in all ways and become the distinctive characteristic of the Turkcell city concept office.