The international vehicle sales and supply company, Motorplus, trusted Iglo Architects, an award-winning team carrying out architecture and interior architecture projects with various scales and different functions, to design their office space in Maslak, Istanbul.
Iglo Architects, partnered by Architect Zafer Karoğlu and Architect Esen Akyar, transformed a standard type workshop structure with a mezzanine in Maslak Auto Industrial Site Section 2 with the intention of designing a structure that stands out without creating an unpleasant scene with its facade among other workshops constructed in a row.
The design features lounge, executive room, operations and foreign trade sections, as well as other spaces including kitchen and toilet areas, built in the area which was previously used as a car service. A closer look at the structure revealed that a second trapezoidal roof was built on the inclined concrete slab roof and there is a 50-cm gap between them. The height of the structure was increased by breaking the underlying concrete slab in a way that avoids spoiling the alignment to neighbors. Skylights were installed during the roof renovation resulting in a bright and spacious atmosphere. On the ground floor, there is a lounge area with a sliding joinery and a convenient terrace on the front, and, on the back, the operational office space was hidden from the front facade by placing wet volumes, consisting of guest and personnel toilets and kitchen. In this area with a limited number of windows, a Barrisol ceiling and a mirror were used to create a spacious, bright effect. The executive room planned on the upper floor overlooking the green landscape of the military zone across the room, has a bright and panoramic prestigious atmosphere with fully-opening windows and roof lights. The comfort was improved by hiding the toilet and fireplace behind the wall panels.
The foreign trade section located on the upper floor, where six persons can work, was rendered into a pleasant work space with high ceilings and bright atmosphere. Sound-absorbing felt and insulation liquids were used in the walls and insulated cement finishes were used in the floors, in order to avoid noise from other workshops. In the middle of workshops planned in rows, this structure managed to show its difference among its neighbors with its facade without creating an unpleasant scene.