Currently under construction on the edge of the city of Istanbul, the Alemdag Housing, designed by Baraka Architects, is made up of four building blocks which contain 70 flats, 2 retail units and social facilities. The 6.000 m² plot is situated on the exact interface between the city and the surrounding forest, making this the first characteristic taken into account for the housing complex as an important dynamic. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The location of the project is where the urban texture starts to dissolve and the built environment becomes almost undefined and sparse. Another major factor was the building code, with a quite high floor-space index and a height limit of six floors. All these facts lead us to use an architectural language with a smooth transition between the building and its surrounding, unlike the neighboring buildings.
The social facilities itself, with an open air swimming pool and rooms for various leisure facilities is differentiated from the rest of the complex by means of ramps and amphitheatres. This leads also to the contextual differentiation between public, semi-public and private space.The linear wooden elements of the facade are thought to act occasionally as sun shading elements, railings and cladding.
Architects: Baraka Architects Location: Istanbul, Turkey Design Team: Abdurahman Çekim, Sevilay Çekim, Fatma Savgan Project Area: 6,000 m² Project Year: 2012
