Building of Cultural Continuity
An opera house right in the center of the country. An idea of the 40’s, the relic of the 1970’s and its iconic façade is now, with its new design is reincarnated the third time. The new center forms a bond between past, present, and future, and unites through design, the urban fabric and culture of Istanbul and the Turkish people. Today, the new Opera House, will act as the future center of arts and culture of twenty-first century Istanbul.
The arts and culture units articulated in the main building, which will have 2500 seats, include a large hall with natural acoustics. Hence, the new AKM will be transformed from a single unit into a large, comprehensive cultural complex. Alternative and secondary features such as smaller concert halls, theater halls, cinemas, libraries, design shops, and cafes and restaurants between them, will be located at various levels along the culture street that is passed through the annex; the low-rise serial buildings connected to each other, and ultimately to the main building, via their lobbies. These capacities are also independently accessible from the street level. Through the cascading extension with a green landscaped roof, a second entry, or a secondary piazza, is granted that will be formed in the direction of the congress valley where Atatürk Library and Technical University are located.
Being public buildings, one of the most notable elements of opera houses are squares. AKM defines the edge of the Taksim Square, and the new project enhances the relationship with its unifying and connective accomplishment through art and cultural activities. More transparent than the old one, AKM’s façade will be reconstructed, enlivened by one of the biggest screens of the world, so that the performances realized on the stage inside will simultaneously broadcast on the screen for the public, through high quality display.
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