The architects were inspired by the natural geological rock formations of Cappadocia where people carved out their homes.

‘The rich culture of Turkey includes a monument to human achievement, invention, and practicality – a site called Cappadocia. More than two thousand years ago, the people of the region sought a strong, permanent and imposing shelter. Inspired by the natural geological formations in the region which withstood all natural on sloughs, the people carved and ‘engineered’ homes and public spaces within those natural rock formations. They did this with such skill and aesthetics that it still echoes today with vibrancy and life.

This is the inspiration for our ‘ROCK-SETTE’ as fulfilment of its functional requirements. There are also two significant additions to the site which reflect in its architectural vocabulary – the tracks of the nearby metro station to the east and the creek to the south. The reflection of their smooth curvilinear lines expresses by their intersection and interaction a direction and accelerated form change. The north-south orientation of the extended site has a drop off of about two meters which allows the building to naturally blend with its environment in a sustainable way. The edifice is also oriented and composed to get the best of the natural resources that the site offers.

The shape grammar is carefully and surgically implemented, revealed as Modern Abstract Expressionism where sculptural expression takes charge. The recreational area with the entire vertical connection is borrowed from ancient times when people traveled by donkey. The ramps in the building, which are the major connections between levels, echo this. When people move between levels and explore the interior sculptural space, they become unintentional visual ‘exponents’ for people entering the building. The space by itself creates a narrative that one can only understand by passing through it. Each view has its own ‘story’ with a unique identity, but taken together they form an orchestration of timelessness, exuberance, and excitement. The methodology is similar to that of a sculptor who smudges, curves, ads, and subtracts from a ball of clay the necessary substance to form a work of art. This ‘work of art’ is also carefully engineered to make it sustainability efficient and entirely energy self-sufficient…’

ARCHITECT: Dinkoff Architects & Engineers, LA, California, USA. CLIENT: Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and ThyssenKrupp Elevator. LOCATION: Bakirkoy District, Istanbul, Turkey. DESCRIPTION: Institutional. STATUS: International Competition. AREA: 9,450 sqm. DESIGN PRINCIPAL: Tino Dinkoff. PROJECT DIRECTOR: Ben Wu. DATE: 2011. No part of this web site may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of Morfae and the copyright owner.