A few weeks ago Superpool surprised me with one of the best library designs I have seen in a while: the Open Library in Istanbul. A small area, a rich public space.
But the office has also been working on two large scale residential projects in Turkey: Konya Residence and Dagos Tower (will be featured on a future article). Both projects propose innovative strategies in terms of dense housing. I´m eager to see how this projects develop and materialize in the future.
About the Konya Residence:
The desire for efficiency of developers and contractors have handcuffed the Turkish housing typology into blocks with typically 4 units around a central core. Despite its unarguable efficiency, the result consistently creates upto a third of the units to be compromised; without views, facing other units. And eventhough generally the zoning laws allow only 25-50% of a given site to be developed, punctured by these indifferent towers, the left over green space is seldom identifiable.
Without sacrificing efficiency of one core to four units, the proposal aims to elongate the blocks to prioritize views to one side. The blocks are then arranged to create a central garden of 8,000 m2; to complete the often neglected green space needs of urban housing.
To introduce sectional variation to the blocks and to enhance the views, the overall volume is terraced. In the context of a rapidly growing city with a diminishing heritage of fruit groves and vines, Konya Residences aims to make green space as important to the life of the residents as the buildings themselves.
Team: Superpool – Selva Gürdoğan, Gregers Tang Thomsen, Marta Marszal, Benek Çinçik
Type: Commission
Size: 40,000 m2
Client: Seha Yapi
Collaborators: New Dialogues AG, Zurich
Location: Konya, Turkey
Status: Ongoing
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- © Superpool
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- Housing in Turkey
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- Diagrams © Superpool
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- Diagrams © Superpool
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- © Superpool
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- Elevation © Superpool
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- Site plan © Superpool
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- 1st floor plan © Superpool
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- 3rd floor plan © Superpool
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- 4th floor plan © Superpool
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- 5th floor plan © Superpool
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- 7th floor plan © Superpool
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- Roof plan © Superpool
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- Section © Superpool
Exciting news! I’m sure this will be a project that will stand out not only in Konya, but in all the country!
I hope..
nice project, but if you start looking more detail…
apartments planing is quite similar to some of the old soviet block buildings, and its not the most pleasant way to live. also unpleasant proportions (some rooms looks like tunnels). and why green area on top of the underground parking? it was possible to solve it in the more natural way. However i like their approach, I’m just not shure about final result…
Nice presentation. Lacks abit of the context though.. looks not juxtapositioned at the moment..
The Design is ok.. not great by far,I think.. sorry.
unfortunetly, whilst thinking smart, they are making the same mistake in terms of social space, that the state planned housing schemes have done: to create a generic open green zone in the mittle of the blocks. this approach just doesn’t work, sooner or later these zones become unused.. + the grass is never that green in Turkey. The social space needs to be carefully orchestrated and yet these designers do not seem to have any interest in doing so. if anything, they should have learned the importance of social space from their old boss. (rem koolhaas)..terrace housing in superblocks with funky balconies are not enough to save the day – sorry but the problem of housing just needs to be taken more seriously.
I would like to see the context since they are leaving a big green area inside the C form, but almost no windows are facing towards the center…this sugest that the view of the surroundings must be much better… even so I would´t understand why are the buildings facing backwards to what seems to be the center and most important part of the project (the green area)
Project seems good in renderings but there is some big problems in investigating housing (apartment) typhologies and social area connections and living style of Konya. They wrote above status:ongoing but the client had a new project for the same site and they start.
” http://www.sehayapi.com/Projeler.aspx ” (Seha Gardenya) project. The typical housing in Turkey like in the 2nd picture.
I know the site of project. The region is a new development of housings but the economical conditions of the region and purchasing capacities of the customers are not equivalent for this type of projects and also living styles of Konya…
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