american firm REX architecture, today announced completion of the new headquarters
and production studios for turkey’s preeminent fashion and media sister companies,
representing the newest example of the firm’s innovative adaptive-reuse approaches
to architecture. the vakko fashion center and power media center transformed
the abandoned skeleton of an unfinished hotel project in istanbul to create one of
the most significant new additions to turkey’s contemporary architectural landscape.


© iwan baan

the structure will serve as corporate headquarters of vakko, turkey’s preeminent fashion
house, including offices, showrooms, conference rooms and auditorium spaces.
the headquarters for power media, turkey’s best-known music and television network,
includes television studios, radio production facilities and screening rooms.


© iwan baan


© iwan baan

the unfinished istanbul hotel was not the only repurposed key element of the project.
REX’s adaptive-reuse expertise enabled it to modify plans from another canceled project
in the united states, allowing construction to begin only four days after REX received
the commission.


© iwan baan

when the CEO of vakko and power media approached REX to design and construct
a corporate headquarters within one year using the abandoned skeleton of an unfinished
hotel, the requested design and construction timetable would normally have been
unthinkable. fortuitously, the unfinished hotel had the same plan dimension, floor-to-floor
height and servicing concept as REX’s design for the california institute of technology’s
annenberg center, which had recently been canceled. by adapting construction documents
produced for the annenberg center to the abandoned concrete hotel skeleton, REX was
able to direct the start of construction just four days after vakko and power media first
approached the firm.


© iwan baan


© iwan baan


entrance
© iwan baan


© iwan baan


© iwan baan


© iwan baan




© iwan baan


© iwan baan

REX divided the project into two structurally independent components. the 'U-shaped'
concrete skeleton—completed by a fourth side—is dubbed the ring, and contains
conventional, flexible office space. at the ring’s center, a new six-floor steel tower -
named the showcase - contains unique programs, including an auditorium, showrooms,
meeting rooms and executive offices, as well as all vertical circulation and restrooms.
by separating the structure into these two independent components, a time-consuming
forensic analysis of the existing concrete skeleton was rendered unnecessary while
the structural design of the showcase was simplified.
 

structure of unfinished hotel
image © REX architects

given only two weeks after initiating design to submit the showcase’s steel order,
the firm and its engineers designed a set of steel boxes that could be assembled in myriad
configurations. ultimately, space use requirements, code restrictions, and a circulation
path winding from bottom to top of the tower dictated the final stacking of the boxes.



 
program distribution
image © REX

a refined architectural image was critical to maintaining vakko/power’s public profile; yet,
the clumsy structure of the abandoned hotel was impossible to hide given the project’s
compressed schedule. they embraced this constraint by designing an exceptionally transparent
and thin glass façade for the ring. by slumping a structural 'X' into each pane to increase
the glass’s strength, the glass’s thickness was reduced and the need for perimeter mullions
was eliminated. the resulting ethereal glass 'saran wrap' subtly reveals the ring’s pre-existing
concrete skeleton and suggests the showcase behind. the showcase, meanwhile, is clad
in mirror-glass, cloaking the steel boxes with a mirage-like exterior, and enlivening the building’s
interior to kaleidoscopic effect.



project credits:
location: istanbul, urkey
clientes: vakko and power media
architect: REX
key personnel: erez ella, tomas janka, mathias madaus, david menicovich, tsuyoshi nakamoto,
joshua prince-ramus, ishtiaq rafiuddin, tieliu wu
consultants: ARTE, autoban, buro statik, cedetas, dora, eleksis, front, gurmen muhendislik,
lamglass, norm tecnic, say yapi, STEP, superpool, cem mimarlik
area: 9,100 sqm (98,000 sqf)
completion: 2010
program: headquarters for a turkish fashion house—including offices, showrooms, conference rooms, auditorium, museum, and dining hall—as well as the television studios, radio production facilities,
and screening rooms of its media sister-company
photography: REX, iwan baan