Akmerkez | Habif Architects

Office • 700 m² • 2017
Etiler • İstanbul

In the study carried out for the renovation of the management office of the Akmerkez building, the main topic to be resolved was determined as the circular floor plan. While the fully circular floors of the office blocks create problems in the optimum use of the space, it directs the architect to use circular and organic lines both in the plan plane and in the decoration. While handling the project, we did not want to create one of the similar office layouts seen in similar plans. Being able to design a different office by tackling the natural directions of the existing volume has become the main aim of the project.

We started the work process by smashing the circle, instead of dividing the plan into slices, we divided it into triangles of different sizes. We placed the spaces following these triangular lines on the plan. We tried to create spaces that give dynamic perspectives as much as possible and that have much harder and sharper lines, in contrast to the softness of the circle. We did not adopt this triangle setup only as a layout rule, we created the same setup on all surfaces in order to strengthen the visual effect.

By using cold and warm materials together that will provide contrast within themselves, we tried to maintain the sense of contrast in decoration, which we attach importance to from the planning stage. By using glossy surfaces, we aimed to increase the volume and not to feel the low floor height in the existing area as much as possible. We aimed not only to strengthen the sense of contrast, but also to make a reference to Akmerkez’s past, by handling dark wood tones, aged concrete surfaces with new materials such as composite plastic and innovative approaches.

We believe that Akmerkez Management Office stands out from the existing offices in the building with its sharp lines, dynamic perspectives, contrast and different design approach, and at the same time, it is the answer to how the office space located on a circular plan can be solved with an innovative approach.

Photography: Gürkan Akay