Gallium Block / Cirakoglu Architects

Architects: Cirakoglu Architects
Location: Ankara, Turkey
Design Team: Deniz Ciler Erkan, Oral Goktas, Bilge Ildiri
Photographs: Alisan Cirakoglu

Project Area: 14,000 sqm
Structural Design: Parlar Muhendislik, Gulsun Parlar
Mechanical Design: YMT Muhendislik, Melih Ozoner
Electrical Project: Promete Muhendislik, Kemal Guravsar

Gallium Block of METU Technopolis has been designed to provide office and research spaces for software companies. Flexibilty of office sizes and architecural quality of work place was one of the major design criteria, as well as having enjoyable gathering places both indoors and outdoors for people who use the building. The building which has office spaces ranging from 70 m2 to 1600 m2 is also a passage way from Technopolis’ offices region to recreation area. This passage is achieved by elevating the building and having the mass of the building sit on the level difference in the site.

This also provides free access into the inner court of the building from different directions. The inner court in between the two office prisms is a open air social gathering place which extends to interiors as enterance hall of the building. The mail circulation of the building takes place around this inner court. The exterior of the building is relatively silent compared to inner court. The vertical openings on the exterior facade provide controlled daylight into the offices.

The rectangular prisms housing the office spaces are elevated and placed on top of the level difference passing through the site. The the wall retaining this level difference is painted red and used as a landscape element. The passage under the prisms connects the offices area of the Technopolis to recreation area.

Keeping in mind that the majority of the users of the building are highly involved with computers, the arrow pointing the entrance of the building is borrowed from the symbol of the “enter” key of the computer keyboard.