Cosmopolitan Complex Wins Best Ongoing Residential Project in the Sign of the City Awards


New York-After winning an international design competition to design a 313,000 square meter (3.4 million square foot) luxurious residential and mixed-use development in the vibrant Kartal district of Istanbul, Turkey, global design and architecture firm Perkins Eastman designed the Manzara Adalar Project. Dome is the Architect of Record. This cosmopolitan development, owned by IṢ GYO, a branch of IṢ REIT, one of the largest banks in Turkey, includes five strategically-sited, elliptically-shaped towers with magnificent views to Princes’ Islands, an archipelago in the Sea of Marmara, and other natural features. The development also provides excellent access to transportation by land, air, and sea as well as close proximity to education and research centers.

PERKINS EASTMAN
Rendering Courtesy of Perkins Eastman

“The Manzara Adalar Project will become a catalyst for the revitalization of Kartal into a thriving, sustainable community when it is completed in 2018,” said Carl Ordemann AIA, a Principal at Perkins Eastman and the Principal in Charge of this project. In 2006, Zaha Hadid Architects designed the master plan for Kartal, an up-and-coming neighborhood in an industrial area 25 minutes southeast of the center of Istanbul on the Asian side of the city. Sales of the 975-units have already reached 60 percent.

Rendering Courtesy of Perkins Eastman
Rendering Courtesy of Perkins Eastman

The Manzara Adalar Project recently won Best Ongoing Residential Project in the 2016 Sign of the City Awards, the most prestigious real estate industry awards in Turkey. Perkins Eastman designed the new urban center to create a lifestyle community that would encourage young professionals from around the world to live, work, and play in the Kartal area and to help alleviate the traffic issues of Istanbul. The exciting new community includes three Residential Towers—the tallest is 42 floors—and two Office Towers. The podium features a boutique shopping mall and street front retail, including an organic food market on the ground floor, and 2,500 square meters (26,910 square feet) of amenities such as a club house, tennis court, and an outdoor swimming pool.

Rendering Courtesy of Perkins Eastman
Rendering Courtesy of Perkins Eastman

Weaving a dynamic new development into an existing residential fabric presented a challenge. Gilles Le Gorrec, Associate Principal of Perkins Eastman and the Designer who created the Manzara Adalar Project, said, “How do you introduce a brand new type of urban resident into a traditional suburban area and plan for the two communities to create a place of cultural osmosis? We designed a lifestyle mixed-use community that would be porous enough to allow interaction with the neighborhood and create a place for invention.” Le Gorrec and the Perkins Eastman team also faced the challenges of designing a complex that would be sustainable, since Turkey is committed to reducing its carbon emissions, and seismically-resilient, since the country is earthquake-prone.

Rendering Courtesy of Perkins Eastman
Rendering Courtesy of Perkins Eastman

An Optical Illusion in the Sleek Design

The Perkins Eastman team created an optical illusion with the design. On the exterior, the five sculptural towers project the graceful curves of an ellipse, which help with wind and cooling during the warm months. On the interior, however, they are actually orthogonal, which makes them more earthquake resilient. By using local materials, such as limestone from Anatolia, wood with the patina of driftwood, and stones with the smoothness of river stones, Perkins Eastman added character to the complex while underscoring its sustainable qualities. Photovoltaic panels represent more sustainable features Perkins Eastman wove into the design of the Manzara Adalar Project in an effort to achieve LEED Silver certification.

Rendering Courtesy of Perkins Eastman
Rendering Courtesy of Perkins Eastman

About Perkins Eastman

Perkins Eastman is among the top design and architecture firms in the world. With almost 1,000 employees in 15 locations around the globe, Perkins Eastman practices at every scale of the built environment. From niche buildings to complex projects that enrich whole communities, the firm’s portfolio reflects a dedication to progressive and inventive design that enhances the quality of the human experience. The firm’s portfolio includes high-end residential, commercial, hotels, retail, office buildings, and corporate interiors, to schools, hospitals, museums, senior living, and public sector facilities. Perkins Eastman provides award-winning design through its offices in North America (New York, NY; Boston, MA; Charlotte, NC; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; Los Angeles, CA; Pittsburgh, PA; San Francisco, CA; Stamford, CT; Toronto, Canada; and Washington, DC); South America (Guayaquil, Ecuador); Middle East and North Africa (Dubai, UAE); and Asia (Mumbai, India, and Shanghai, China).