Cendere Water Pump Station is one of the few industrial heritage structures of Istanbul that has survived to the present day. The station was built by II.Abdülhamit in 1902 because the Taksim water facilities, which is the main water line of the city, could not meet the increasing demand. The building, lost its 33 meter high brick chimney over time, has managed to reach today by preserving its original texture, although it has undergone changes in some interior spaces after the transition to the electrical system.
It set out to make an original and impressive contribution to the energy, culture and art life of Istanbul. Cendere Art Center; It was designed by Zemberek Design as an inclusive space open to all disciplines of art, centered on contemporary art with an interdisciplinary approach.
Cendere Art Center opened its doors to visitors on October 24, 2022. In addition to national and international exhibitions, panels, conferences and performances that reflect cultural diversity, it has joined the culture and art venues of Istanbul with its programs that will establish relations with its audience.
The industrial structure was re-functionalized in a way that it was purged of all the interventions that had been made over time and protecting its identity. In the exhibition areas reserved for cultural and artistic activities; It was aimed to host the spirit of the historical building for the visitor. After the building was simplified to the closest state to its original state; In the arrangement of the structural elements, an understanding was adopted in which only the basic requirements such as background walls, mechanical reinforcements and lighting elements created for the exhibition are included. It was aimed to separate the building from the newly added exhibition equipment and to continue its existence as a neutral shell.
The outbuilding was organized for the use of workshops and administrative spaces. In the garden in front of the building, a partially sheltered life was designed for the workshops, which is related to an arrangement and circulation route that allows the existing trees to define its natural border, which does not break with the main fiction.
The main approach in the re-functioning of the building was continued with the sensitivity of protecting the natural flora in open areas. Circulation routes that start from the entrance and transport the visitors to the main historical building, registered plane tree, cafe and workshop areas and exhibition squares attached to this route were created. Landscaping equipment; It was limited to the floor that defines the circulation routes and the seating elements placed in the open exhibition areas. For the continuity of the neutral attitude, it was preferred to use concrete with different textures.
The 400-year-old historical plane tree was kept as a focal point that welcomes the visitor at the end of the circulation route, and the liveliness of its surroundings was supported with the transparent cafe next to it. The structure of the cafe has been designed as a soft cover that will convey the spirit of the period when the Cendere Water Pump Station was built, with the memory of the plane tree and the breezes of the old era.
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