Savoy Ulus / Autoban

Architects: Autoban
Year: 2014
Photographs: Sergio Ghetti

Text description provided by the architects. Developed by Çarmıklı-Saruhan coorporation, Savoy Ulus is a residential complex that consists of various types of apartments all designed to satisfy different types of living. With its modern architectural style, as well as exquisite services and facilities, the project breathes new life to the upscale Ulus area, a hilltop district of Istanbul that is home to many apartment complexes built back in the 80s and 90s.

At the centre of the residential complex is the Savoy Ulus Club House – a joint-use sports and entertainment complex. The interior of the Club House - consisting of a lounge area, café and multimedia room, swimming pool, spa rooms, fitness and cardio areas - is designed by Autoban.

The elevation of the site is the main determining factor of the architecture of the building and it’s unique geometry, which eventually becomes part of the landscape. Here, Autoban has created an interior shell that is totally in tune with the architecture. In fact, the building’s unique geometry has determined all the forms and materials that Autoban chose to use in this particular project. The result is a myriad of textures and patterns (radial forms) that mimic the geometry of the building.

Autoban has created an interior shell at parapet level, which distinctively separates itself from the architectural contours of the building by a lighting channel, and becomes a stand-alone structure of its own. Its distance from the architectural shell of the building also makes room for hiding the lighting as well as other mechanical and technical systems, and therefore becomes a functional solution for the interior. The said interior shell is made of wood (material changes at the pool and fitness area, and becomes marble in two different shades) to contrast with the concrete structure, and add warmth to the space. It is designed at parapet level to create a rather enclosed space of human scale.

At the lounge area, while signature Autoban furniture become main elements of the interior, the transparent library at the centre also becomes the centre of attraction. With its floor-to-ceiling glass walls, the library unit is basically a transparent box, and the outcome of Autoban’s architectural approach to create a-shell-within-a-shell, a-space-within-a-space. The library unit also suggests mobility, by standing on its own but being part of the main interior, just like the overall interior shell does.

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