BORUSAN ART & MUSIC HOUSE

The new Borusan Music and Art Center in the historic neighborhood of Beyoglu, Istanbul is a multi-purpose space for exhibitions, events, rehearsals and various other cultural training programs. This new culture center will symbolize the cultural and arts renaissance presently occurring throughout the city while also preserving the architectural legacy of Istanbul.

GAD’s design preserves and restores the historic shell of the existing building; the shell is typical of the facades along the famous Istiklal Caddesi. The building core is completely removed to express an empty void. In a clever move, GAD inserts a contrasting contemporary ‘box’ within the core. The ‘box’ is designed using a lightweight steel Diagrid frame system along its perimeter. This strategy allows for floor plans to be open and offers programmatic flexibility between all the floors. The inserted ‘box’ seems to almost defy gravity as it plays off and is framed by the historic masonry shell. The architectural symbiosis of the two contrasting construction methods and materials activates a playful tension between past and present.