GAD architecture has completed a department store in istanbul’s akmerkez shopping mall, which features a giant slide that returns shoppers to ground level from its uppermost storey. conceived as a ‘fun labyrinth’, GAD’s flexible retail configuration is intended to renew itself over time. ‘instead of having thematic and decorative changes, we tried to make a space that will transform itself and renew itself like a flexible, surprising, alive organism,’ explains the design team. rather than a conventional mall experience, where outlets are laid out in a continuous sequence, GAD sought to create a shopping experience with a more natural and fluid progression between stores. consequently, wepublic comprises a series of surprising and engaging spaces. ‘we tried to destroy the usual rhythm and order with various curvilinear forms, and create the continuity and movement of the nodes through sequential detection,’ says GAD. the design team created entry points at the two main corners, bringing consumers directly into the store’s 17 meter-high atrium. here, a huge spiraling slide, reminiscent of a carsten höller installation, spans the entire volume — allowing guests to return to the ground floor in a matter of seconds. internally, the spatial organization of the sales areas has been conceived by universal studio and HMKM, while its application was carried out by yoo mimarlık.
project info: location: istanbul, turkey
architectural project & design: gokhan avcioglu & GAD
team: nesime onel, goksen gungor, oguz emre bal, pelin aribas esra esen, cemal erol, emre bilol
date: 2015 – 2016