Projects | Kreatif Mimarlık

Information Commercialization Center (ICC)

Information Commercialization Center (ICC), located on the entrance of the Golden Horn on the historical peninsula of Istanbul, is a structure designed to fit the information age and digital revolution of the 21st century.

At the core of the design are concepts of transparency, fluidity, and flexibility. The aim is to create an inspiring and functional working environment for users.

Inspired by the courtyards of historical caravanserais, an open-air public space provides an area for both commerce and communication. The entrance of KCC is equidistant from Reşadiye and Yalıköşkü streets, offering easy access.

The structure shell, adapting to the historical environment with reflective surfaces, presents a modern aesthetic while respecting the historical texture.

Interconnected, fluid, and transparent volumes encourage interaction among users and facilitate the flow of information. The spatial organization, compatible with the digital age, is flexible and adaptable to future needs.

The Transparent Amphitheater, where users can give presentations and receive training, is an environment that encourages information sharing and learning.

On the rooftop terrace, a track and green spaces overlooking Istanbul are designed for users to relax and enjoy the city.

The KCC is a structure designed with the experience of the past and the data of today, inspiring 21st-century knowledge entrepreneurs and providing a new meeting point for the region.

Aral Residence

When the site within an industrial zone near the E-5 highway of Topkapi, Istanbul was on the agenda of urban transformation, Kreatif Architects developed six different mass proposals for the residential project to be built.

The north-leaning linear block using the most effective form of horizontal and vertical circulation, producing enough commercial space and benefiting from natural light and ventilation was chosen to be developed among other alternative models.

It was possible to create a quiet public space protected from the traffic noise thanks to the courtyard surrounded by two-storey high commercial units located below the road level.

The 12-story residential block rising above the base containing commercial units includes a single vertical core and 14 apartments on each floor. With the design of balconies in each of the south facing apartments, a calm and dignified but dynamic layout was achieved on the facade.

Materials, colours and textures with an industrial reference were preferred on the exterior and interior architectural design reminding the industrial past of the region. For this reason, fire bricks, black painted metal and aluminium formed the material palette of the project.

Gobeklitepe Visitor and Animation Center

Gobeklitepe, the oldest known temple of mankind, dates back to 11,600 years ago. This recently discovered structure has led us to observe our knowledge of the formation of human communities. This building group, which is 4,600 years old from the first cities in Mesopotamia, 6,600 years from the famous Stonehenge in England, 7.100 years from the Egyptian Pyramids and 6000 years from the temples in Malta Island, undoubtedly will welcome many visitors from all over the world.

In the past couple of years, a need to refurbish the existing visitor centre was born to comfortably host the increasing number of visitors of Gobeklitepe without disturbing the ongoing excavation studies. According to the brief, the circular shaped existing building should be redesigned to include offices and meeting rooms for archaeologists and a new visitor centre should be designed next to it. A nationally invited architectural design contest was opened in 2015 in collaboration with Dogus Group, which undertook the sponsorship of the project, and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Kreatif Architects’ proposal was chosen to implement the design of the new visiting centre and the transformation of the existing structure.

The architectural and interior design project of the new visitor centre, which opened its doors in mid-2018, was undertaken by Kreatif Architects and concept design for the exhibition was implemented by Tasarimhane.

It was the main goal of the project to design a silent building that does not overcome the oldest structures of human history in the immediate vicinity.

The circularly planned temple structures in the revealed parts of the Gobeklitepe inspired the plan scheme of the project that consists two circular volumes arranged in a neatly designed landscape. For these circular single storey volumes, the rammed earth wall technique was preferred. In this respect, it has been ensured that the materials are in conformity with the site and with the local mudbrick construction technology.

The walls of the circular animation hall, located in the heart of the main visitor building, are designed to reflect the images of the excavation area. There are interactive screens on the four tables in the middle of seating area where stools are arranged in a grid pattern. The main hall is surrounded by the ticket shop, café, children’s play area and toilets. The second circular building houses offices, a laboratory, a meeting and a small conference room in the middle room for the use of archaeologists and scientists.

Visitors coming via buses or with their own cars are directed to the visiting centre from the parking lot and then to the excavation site by means of landscaping and low curved walls surrounding the site.

Levent Vadi

Levent Vadi residential project is designed for a steep sloped site in Zincirlikuyu, Istanbul. The site has almost 30 meters’ level difference between the two long paralel sides. A walkway spine cutting the slope diagonally was formed within the site to provide pedestrian circulation with a minimum slope. Recreational areas by means of terraces are formed at the beginning of the spine, at the breaking points and finally and at the end of this route.

The building blocks are attached to this spine and placed accordingly so that they would not close each other’s view. Square planned compact-shaped block types are preferred to avoid creating a massive mass on the site and height of blocks are designed to align with the neighbouring buildings in the Ulus-Levazim area.

Sabancı University Macka Campus

When the existing building of Hilton ParkSA hotel located in Macka district of Istanbul considered to be transformed for the Sabancı University Higher Certificate Program functions, Kreatif Architects has been chosen as the architectural team responsible for the retrofit project. The project, which consists of 3 basement floors, ground floor, 6 normal floors and one terrace floor, has a closed area of 10.000 m².

The program requirements discussed and outlined with the academicians together and it includes conference halls and the exhibition / seating area on the ground floor and dining hall and reserve classrooms in addition to an inner garden on the first basement thanks to the slope of the street.

In order to enable the students to have a pleasant time between the courses, visual communication between the floors is established by creating a wide stair hall between the ground floor and the 6th floor opposite the elevator hall in the present structure. A transparent cut was created on the facade so that the staircase with plastic effect could be perceived from outside and create a new identity of the building with Sabancı University.

Hasan Kalyoncu University Library, Faculty of Education and Faculty of Communication

A building complex including library, Education and Communication Schools is requested to be designed in the existing university campus, which is located on a high hill overlooking the city of Gaziantep in Turkey. The total closed construction area is 48.000 m² and the building is located on a long narrow site. Due to the shape of the site, the structure is designed to be composed of three separate connected blocks. Given the climate and regional architectural features, in every block open and closed inner courtyards were created. Since the long building faces to the southwest direction, less openings are designed on this façade.

The first block next to existing Conference Hall is designed as a Library. Students can study and benefit from the digital and printed publications of this centrally located library with a closed area of 9.000 m² on a 7/24 basis. The transition area between the School of Communications and the School of Education, located next to the library block, is designed as a Student Centre.

Anadolu Sağlık Merkezi

Anadolu Health Center, planned as a health village by Anadolu Group is located in Tuzla district of Istanbul and the interior design project for the centre was undertaken by Kreatif Architecture in 2003-2004.

In addition to regular general hospital services, Anadolu Health Center is specialized on oncology treatments in collaboration with Johns Hopkins Group to serve Turkey and countries nearby. Thus, the interiors were designed to relieve the patients and their relatives to get away from the sickness mood and comfort the guests coming from out of the town as if they are staying in a hotel. The hospital has 116 rooms of which 10 of them are designed as suits.

Koc University Medical Sciences Campus

Concept design and medical planning for Koç University’s Medical Sciences Campus, located in Istanbul’s Topkapı district, was prepared in collaboration with Cannon Design.

From the early stages of the project, to include campus users in all the phases of the design process, forums were organized with representatives from different stake holders and user groups.

In addition to the concept design and medical planning, Kreatif Architects also carried out the revisions that became necessary to finalize the design and construction on time as the building code was altered following the completion of the first stage.

The project is based on the idea of creating a spatial organization flexible enough to respond possible needs and requirements that may arise in the future, which is also innovative as a research center for the medical industry. The project also seeks to encourage the integration and collaboration of different disciplines for a more successful medical education. With all these included, the design also features international standards while embracing the sense of identity and place.

The spaces of academic education and professional application is carefully positioned as to provide a mutually supportive connection in the campus which consists of a medical faculty with research and training programs, a university hospital with a capacity of 440 inpatients, a nurse school, an advanced simulation center, high-security research labs, dormitories, social facilities and sports halls. Accordingly, the design is shaped to create a visual connection between the research and training block, and the hospital.

The continuity of the architectural language seen in the university’s Rumelifeneri campus is one of the crucial points of the concept design; which resulted in the use of modern forms and materials associated with traces of traditional architecture. The locations and proportions of the blocks were decided according to certain criteria, such as the size of the parcel, the required program, the maximum day light in the patient rooms, ease of maintaining and cleaning works and energy conservation.

The building consists of two rectangular blocks located on a narrow and long land. The southern block is designed lower, and is distanced from the other one using a curve in the form, which also helps to provide more natural light reaching to the atrium and the northern block.

Meanwhile, the relationship of the whole campus with the ground level is harmonized through inviting the human factor, thanks to the terrace placed right on the hospital entrance.

The atriums used in the structural design are important architectural elements that ensure the integrity of the interiors and exteriors. As spaces that facilitate and strengthen the relations among the buildings’ components, the atriums also help the campus achieve its public mission to open towards the city and make the buildings more alluring. Moreover, the spaces at mezzanines and basement floors can have access to far more daylight because of the skylights placed in these open spaces.

Elaborating the comfort conditions for patients, students and academicians, spaces such as classrooms that do not lean on the facade, labs, patient and intensive care rooms, as well as the supportive units such as cafeteria, dining room and offices are all linked to an atrium in between the blocks, or are visually connected to the pocket gardens. Thanks to this spatial organization, all the places, particularly those on the ground level, can benefit from the natural light no matter how further deep they are located.

FourPoints by Sheraton

Kreatif Architects has undertaken the project of an existing hotel building located in one of the important industrial zones of Istanbul. The building, designed by a AE Architects has 182 rooms and serves mainly to customers visiting the industrial zone for business purposes. The design principles of Four Points by Sheraton are used for guests of whom most of them are solo travelers who wish to have an honest, uncomplicated and comfortable atmosphere.

The hotel which was redesigned with a vintage modern approach, has two large conference hall that can be joined to host 120 people and different sized meeting halls.

Samsun Sheraton

Samsun Sheraton Hotel on Samsun coastline was undertaken by Kreatif Architects whereas the architectural project of the original building belonged to Piramit Architects. The 26-storey hotel which has a capacity of 221 rooms has a total 40,000 sqm covered area and it is designed with a holistic approach to create a warm and comfortable atmosphere with its common and outdoor areas. In addition to the accommodation function, the hotel is planned to host events such as congresses and proms.

In the hotel SPA, indoor and outdoor pools and gymnasium as well as Breakfast Hall, Fener Restaurant, Bar and Food – Drinking areas are designed in accordance with the holistic design concept.

Photographs depicting the Samsun city were preferred in the bedrooms as artworks. Materials and furniture selections were chosen according to the global Sheraton concept where natural wood and pastel colours in moving furniture were chosen.

Ataşehir Sheraton

The Atasehir Sheraton Hotel, of which its interior architecture is designed by Kreatif Architects in accordance with the Sheraton standards, is a high-end business hotel close to the financial centre.

Rooms and common areas are designed to be elegant and comfortable with relevant functions that business persons are seeking for. Entrance lobby as well as the A la carte restaurant and bar is planned to accommodate short talks and meetings whereas conferences and longer meetings can be organized in meeting halls and ballroom of various sizes located in a lower floor.

The hotel’s rooms meet all requirements of comfort and they are equipped with current technological amenities. All functions on the entrance floor are placed on a main axis to create a street effect, with a bright and stylish interior passage atmosphere.

Argos-Erciyes Ski Hotel

Argos-Erciyes Ski Hotel is designed with the purpose of creating a quiet and peaceful environment as in Sabahattin Ali’s poem “Mountains” so the guests can move away from daily life stress and encompass the nature as if their home.

The complex consists of an 83-room hotel and a daily resort both located on Erciyes Mountain at Kayseri offering a different kind of lifestyle for a variety of guests with different daily routines. Another aim was to create courtyards by fragmenting the masses, instead of using a mono-block mass. Two ‘hayat’ spaces were created which exist in traditional regional houses. Both of them are located at the entrance part as reception/ lobby and lounge area that links visually the upper floors and the courtyard. Corten steel, glass and wood were selected as major materials to be used on the skin due to their natural feeling.

Karakoy Boutique Hotel

Karakoy Boutique Hotel is one of many similarly sized hotels which are increasing in number in the Galata-Pera region of Istanbul. It is designed to replace one of the adjacent row blocks shaping the dense Bankalar Street. In order to create a spacious entrance on the extremely dense and narrow site, the lobby has been designed to allocate two floors in this hotel which will have 90 rooms in its 8 floors. The restaurant above the lobby has been extended towards the backyard, to help continue the spaciousness created in the lobby.

A simple and bold grid order has been designed for the facade which subtly fits into the existing fabric of the street. The recessed window frames bring a three-dimensional texture to the facade and also behave like a sun blocker for the windows.

Avantgarde Taksim Hotel

Avantgarde Taksim Hotel, designed by Kreatif Architects, is proposed in place of the structurally vulnerable building in the city centre to fulfil short-term accommodation needs as a boutique city hotel with its 59 rooms. A modest architectural look is appropriated for the project that establishes a relation with the current neighbouring buildings that defines the Taksim Square. The narrow façade with vertical lines, which seems to solemnly stand for over a long period, is enhanced with the expansion of the rooms via cantilevers and upgraded viewpoints.

The façade is covered with Green Logo certificated self-cleaning materials of Japan Inax Company, which was founded by the partnership of Frank Lloyd Wright in 1924. The façade looking at the Gezi Park is kept coherent with the building typology of the Mete Avenue thanks to the unpretentious colour, texture and details.

The interior of the hotel adopts simplicity as a design concept, where the 17,5 square meter rooms are designed to be spacious in a sincerity that embraces the guests as their home rather than a hotel. Narrow corridors and shared spaces are visually expanded with mirrors and reflective surfaces while earth tone light colours and textile-based textures are preferred in rooms and other spaces to provide spaciousness. In order to enlarge the space with sleeping rooms, wide mirrors are applied on the walls and bathroom volumes are designed with sliding doors. Texts about Istanbul are engraved on the divider glass separators inside the rooms.

The general interior and lighting design in the hotel are considered to make the guests feel not only comfortable, but also privileged. To create a warm ambience, walnut coverings on walls and natural stone cladding on floors are applied while such innovative materials as mono-block wall coverings and coloured transparent panels with organic layers are placed in order to provide richness and profundity for the space. The lobby, mostly used as a shared space for waiting and welcoming, is acting as the street’s peaceful extension thanks to its large glass panel. Accordingly, the restaurant and the breakfast room looking to the garden on low level in the backyard offer a calm and restful ambience to the guests. In shared spaces of the hotel, there are works of Hasan Pehlevan and Deniz Tunç, as well as other works from the employer’s own collection, to share genuine pieces of contemporary art with visitors.

Haliç Hilton Garden Inn Hotel

Haliç (Golden Horn) which is the most important element of the Istanbul silhouette after Bosphorus has been gaining its lost geographical beauty and cultural power since 1990’s in small steps. Building lot which is located on a strong topographical spot has two different sides facing Kagithane and junction of Haliç (Golden Horn) with Bosphorus. During the design process, these two directions were major criteria. The building is designed as a generative pioneering architectural example that will start the change of the surrounding unfavourable physical environment.

With the gradual levelling of the main form, it was possible to maximize the number of rooms facing the main view. The single type rooms, briefed by the management concept, were carefully placed facing different viewpoints that enable a variety to be created on the facade and as a result 93% of the 214 rooms could have Halic (Golden Horn) view. West facing facades are designed together with the sun control elements. Open spaces between the main volumes were used as restaurants, entrance foyer and gardens. Reception, restaurant, lobby bar, gym hall, two seminar rooms with 100 seats, foyers and four meetings are located on the floor which is also the entrance floor of the hotel.

Ataköy Sheraton Hotel

Kreatif Architects won a limited competition to renovate and rehabilitate the Sheraton Hotel in Atakoy designed by Hayati Tabanlioglu in 1992.

Contemporary requirements for hotel management and accommodation have been redesigned in the existing building envelope. All the interior spaces including the public and circulation areas, rooms and exterior spaces have been redesigned by taking the approval of the architectural office of the original building.

Structural enhancing has been undertaken for the buildings located outside the main block of the hotel which has 38.000 sqm covered space. Optimum alternatives in terms of taste, quality, price and endurance have been selected for materials and details that are also compatible with the corporate identity of the Sheraton Hotels. All interventions aimed to create a timeless new design for the Sheraton Atakoy Hotel that will enable the guests to experience a contemporary boutique accommodation.

Club Select Maris Hotel

Club Select Maris, which has a bay of its own in Marmaris, has been renovated by Kreatif Architecture in 2006. The lobby, fitness and Spa centre, restaurant and conference rooms of the hotel which has 161 guest rooms has been renovated in the first phase. Bar, coasts, theatre, market and the open pool area have been renovated in the second phase. Kreatif Architecture has also undertaken the project management tasks of the first phase while carrying out the interior design process.

Memorial Sisli Hospital

The main challenge in the renewal project of this fully equipped hospital in Caglayan, which belongs to the Memorial Health Group, was defined around the creation of a new design language, reflecting the new institutional identity of Memorial while it is operating in its already existing building.

As the primary concern was to provide the patients, doctors and the staff with ultimate comfort, the entire medical planning and technical infrastructure was shaped on this basis. The main goal within the context of the project was to determine the design principles, set by the standards of all the materials, colour schemes, furniture and equipment selected that could be applied to all existing and new hospitals and medical centres of Memorial Health Group.

It is within this framework that interior design projects were implemented for five polyclinic sections: screening labs, emergency response rooms and intensive care units including the CT, MRI and fluoroscopy, IVF units, kids’ emergency, polyclinic areas and the cafeteria. Additionally, such services as project management, control and coordination were part of the scope.

TAO Tower 2014

The 2011 designed project in Istanbul Ataşehir was requested to be redesigned when the position and size of the volumes were altered due to the completely changed master plan of the region. TAO Tower 2014 is designed to reshape the old program based on new conditions, which will allow flexible office building in a shell & core structure, located above the commercial units on the lower floors.

The two-storey entry lobby is designed as a junction point that behaves like a public space, collecting vehicles and pedestrian entrances in different elevations and distributes them immediately to the main circulation core.

SPK Building

The project won the first prize in the national competition opened by the Capital Markets Authority, one of the institutions that will take place at the Ataşehir Finance Center. It consists of a few stories high base that connects the different square prism shaped masses of which the heights were limited by the strict master planning rules.

The base with a latticed metal façade is visually discerned from the blocks above by means of different texture colour and transparency even though physically it binds these blocks on the ground level. In some points this base turns to be an arcade to invite people in. The terraces of the base are designed as green roofs to create an attractive surface for the offices overlooking while the use of open space was increased.

Umraniye Plaza

As one of the office buildings to be located at Atasehir Finance Center, the project has adopted a design principle in which the corporate identity of the employer is reflected on the facade. Floor gardens were created at the cavities corresponding to voids of the the asymmetrical linear texture of the façade. As the two blocks with square plans rise, the floor areas are narrowed and dynamic masses are created. The horizontal blinds on the front are gathered up at the places corresponding to the gardens and the dynamic effect is enhanced. A quiet courtyard where the employees of both offices can benefit from has been designed among the rectangular prismatic bases that lie beneath the towers located on the two opposite corners of the lot.

BAP Plaza

BAP Plaza was designed with the purpose of creating an office building with maximum efficiency on a small lot located in the rediscovered part of Istanbul, on Kagithane Cendere Street. The square shaped prismatic mass is placed with an angle to the street to create triangular areas on the ground providing a convenient entrance to the parking floors below. The ground floor consists of commercial facilities and the upper floors are designed as ‘A class office spaces’ with a total construction area of 12.000sqm. The building displays a unique identity with rounded corners and graphite-coloured facade in Cendere Street.

Anadolu Plaza

Perception of the mass from E-5 highroad and from the periphery; ground floor organization and shadow-light values were considered while deciding the location of the high-rise office tower within the plot. An open space is created on the ground level which is isolated from the negative conditions of highway, open on the opposite side featuring commercial spaces on the peripheries of the site.

Office spaces that can be individually organized, are attached to an iconic prism (the core) on the design of the tower. This dynamic mass gives the office building both functional and aesthetic values.

MAPFRE Insurance Building Complex

The new complex for Mapfre Insurance, located in Findikli region of Istanbul, is designed to sustain the needs of the client by taking the cultural, economic and geographical features of the city as well as the contemporary requirements of the daily business life. It is a building that can trigger a change to overcome the negative circumstances while being coherent the historic features of the region.

Mapfre Turkey, Insurance Building Complex consists five building blocks situated on a seven-plot area. Block A; is the new building block where Mapfre Genel Sigorta office units are to be located, has a facade on Meclis-i Mebusan street and because of the topographical structure of the complex and zoning conditions, vehicle and pedestrian entrances and main entrance of the complex are provided from this building. Block B; is the new building block where Mapfre Genel Yaşam office units, symposium hall, education halls are planned to be located. Staff restaurant, cafe and multi-purpose invitation hall which will also be located in this building block will have connection to the inner garden from different levels. Block C; is the new building block where the Law Department shared by Mapfre Genel Sigorta and Mapfre Genel Yaşam is located. There will be a reserved storey for the future needs and a Health Club and a Library which will have connection to the inner garden from different levels. Block D; is the existing building to be renovated for the accommodation of the domestic and foreign visitors of both companies. Block E; is the existing building where only the facades will be renovated. Agency offices will also be located in this building.

DPC Office

The globalization and two of its main actors, economy and finance, have become the major defining fields that shape the identity of the cities. Levent-Maslak axis on the European side of Istanbul is such a Financial Axis as companies settle with great ambitions but this major axis is lacking adequate urban planning, infrastructure and social facilities.

In the design analysis of the DPC office building located on this major finance axis, the identity of the building complex has been constructed by taking the positioning issue inside the plot, the social space and pedestrian axis on the ground level, the perception of the office volume from outside or from the speedway and the relationship between the existing DPC building.

Commercial spaces for renting have been designed along the edges of the DPC office block on the ground level that will work together with the main volume but also will have independent controls and open air public spaces.

This open air public space is designed as a socializing space both for the users of the DPC office and for the guests coming from outside. It is surrounded by an A la Carte Restaurant, cafe, book and CD shop that can be perceived from the office block. This area is designed in coherence with human scale and it is located to prevent the users from harsh winds around.

Since there was a building height limit a sunken courtyard has been designed in order to reach the maximum building area permitted by the zoning regulation. This courtyard has office spaces that can be rented to individual small offices as well as meeting rooms, foyers and service areas that can be used both by the DPC office users and by firms from outside.

Bayrakli Tower

Bayrakli Tower has been designed to be a landmark on Ankara Boulevard in the developing area of Izmir located between the port and Bornova districts. Considering the future of this street where similar office buildings are to be built in increasing numbers, the most important decision in the design process was to set back the Bayrakli Tower building from the street line, creating a public space on the front. This space has potential usages for pedestrians as they can meet up, stroll and linger around. In addition to this space on the pedestrian level, a terrace overlooking to the street is connected with wide steps to this plaza. Thanks to this elevated terrace, pedestrians and office employees can enjoy together this recreational space away from the busy and noisy street level but which still maintains a visual connection.

Retail spaces underneath the terrace also help the ground level’s vitality. The split on the retail spaces that forms the stairs climbing up to the terrace also enables larger shop window surfaces and attracts pedestrians into the plaza. The office block rising above the artificial dynamic topography of the terrace area has a remarkable visual effect with its extraordinary texture and form shaped by the path of sunlight as well as the dominant winds.

The 24 stories block is designed as a contemporary version of old office-building style of Izmir. The block has a rational planning that gives flexibility to house various sized independent offices inside with shared and private amenities including kitchenettes, bathrooms and individual HVAC systems. Unused spaces in the infrastructural stories have been transformed into gym, shared meeting rooms and conference halls.

TAO Office 2011

The building lot for TAO Office Tower in İstanbul Finance Center in Ataşehir has unique features in terms of perception both from inside the IFC area and from the neighboring high-way. While deciding the location of the Tower inside the lot, its perception from different points as a landmark has been studied carefully. Also its design has been completed considering its shadow-light values during the day, its relation with future higher buildings nearby and extra building permissions which is gained by the current building regulations thanks to the clever use of the topographical features of the site.

Inside the lot an independent self-sustaining, extroverted but controlled “meeting area” which works coherently with the office tower has been designed on the ground level and retail spaces are located around this open public space. This area is designed as a secluded but open air area, which is both visible from outside the lot but also embedded into the ground to avoid harsh winds. This design tactic makes this area to be a public space which can be used both by the office employee and the people coming from outside.

LEED Gold Certificate Green Building criteria were important design parameters during the design phase of the project. Floor terraces distributed on various levels in the building increase the efficiency of the double facade system that allow natural air ventilation and eventually considerable amount of energy can be saved which helps to decrease the stress over usual mechanical HVAC system.

USA Embassy Buildings

Kreatif Architects had prepared the shop drawings and coordinated the project process of the five USA Embassies in five different countries, including the Istanbul Embassy building. After the completion of the Istanbul building in 2001, the embassies in Guinea, Kamerun, Mali and Sierra Leone, each having a 9.000sqm covered space, had been completed.

In addition to the project coordination and drawing, Kreatif Architects had been responsible of the finishing of the interiors of the buildings.

Lignadecor Plant & Office Building

This is a factory and administrative office building of Lignadecor on 26 acres of 63 acres of land located in Gebze Organize Industrial Zone. The entrance and exit were considered separately and the traffic density was minimized with the created ring way.

The production facility building consist three floors including basement, ground and a mezzanine floor, whereas the office building has total of four floors. The production facility includes service and storage areas in the basement floor, production lines in the ground floor and staff dressing rooms in the mezzanine.

Considering the storage systems of the equipment and the materials used in the production plant, the floor heights are determined as 9m whereas in the office section the floor heights are kept as 4.5m in height. Thus, floors that can be connected to the factory and to the management office are obtained and controlled transitions are provided within each other. In addition to these administrative and marketing offices, there are also various research laboratories, training and seminar halls.

SASS Inonu Mega Logistic Park

Mega Logistics park project, designed for SASS Logistics Srl company is located in 238 acres of land on Eskisehir – Bursa road in Inonu district of Eskisehir.

Repeated prefabricated buildings in accordance with logistics standards have a very rational grid plan. The whole building is single storey; some rooms have a partial basement floor and a mezzanine floor is planned for management offices.

LA Winery

Torbali is located about 40 km away from Izmir in southeast direction and does have very fertile agricultural lands. The city of ancient Metropolis in the Mediterranean climatic region was accepted as one of the famous Aegean wine centres, owing to the favourable geographical peculiarities during the ancient ages.

LA Winery is founded in this specific region known with vast vineyards, and its facility is erected with Kreatif Architecture’s design united with the efforts of a profound investor and the labour of a meticulous contractor.

The LA vineyards are positioned in north-south direction near Torbali area. The building was situated in the northwest of the site, enabling a bird’s eye view on the vineyards.

There are two main functions in the building: Wine tasting area and the cellar. These two components of the architectural program require different environmental needs; the wine tasting space needs a welcoming atmosphere with sunlight, natural ventilation and an orientation toward the vista, whereas the cellar needs a controlled climate and a dim atmosphere. The disintegration in functions was solved with positioning the tasting space above the ground and the cellar underground.

Wide glass windows on the floor of the tasting area provide visual contact with the cellar space underneath. Thanks to these floor openings, the visual relation between the vineyard and the tasting space was also carried to the cellar, where the raw fruit and the product can be observed almost simultaneously in this winery.

The underground 3000 m² cellar consists of curvilinear raw concrete surfaces that were cast with steel molds. Additionally, this space also includes a special wine tasting space that is open to vista via the lower level. This specific area has also a controlled visual interaction with the cellar.

The wine tasting space above the ground consists of a long span steel structure system combined with wood beams and natural stone cladding. Urla-style cladding was preferred on natural stone surfaces and a meticulous detailing and craftsmanship was utilized on the interior and the exterior finishing of the building. Existing trees were maintained in the landscape design phase and local vegetation was preferred as building’s natural extension. Thus a modest harmony with the surrounding can be maintained with the LA Winery building.

Sagun Fish Market

Sagun Fish Market is designed in a central location on the seaside in the beachfront of Tuzla district of Istanbul with a total of 1.800 m2 covered area. The reception area on the ground floor is located on the central axis and it is planned to control the entry and exit of the goods in the land and sea direction.

There are auction sites and offices on one side of the incoming goods axis and product preparation areas on the other side. The cafeteria and administrative offices located on the mezzanine floor are connected by a bridge passing over the goods reception courtyard. The steel carrier system projected from the roof of the building is double-walled and a metal carcass roof.

AC Hotel Macka

The AC Hotel Macka is a renovation project that uses the old Taslik Hotel structure in Macka district of Istanbul to be used as as a business city hotel for short term stays.

Kreatif Architects, with considerable experience in architectural design, interior design and spatial organization of tourism and accommodation facilities, has designed a peaceful building in Akaretler Street with a serene identity.

The lobby directly opens to the street and a facade with reference to the classical apartment facades of Nisantasi is preferred with horizontal linear character.

There are 98 rooms in the renovated building housed inside the structure an existing hotel with an additional block on the adjacent lot. Due to building regulations of the site, the renovation method had to be preferred instead of rebuilding after demolishing the existing structure.

The result achieved in terms of meeting international mechanical-electrical standards and Marriott’s room size requirements has been more than satisfactory despite the limitation of existing floor heights.

Pozitif Building & Lounge

Asmalımescit neighborhood witnessed a radical change after the second half of 90s and music club Babylon played a major role in this change. Pozitif Office Building has a physical connection between Babylon Lounge on its entrance floorand the Babylon Music Club in a historical building attached behind. Contemporary discourse of the building has a parallel attitude with its establisher, also has an intercourse with the historical surrounding.

Babylon Lounge on the ground level offers a serene space during the day time for its visitors and also to the employee of Pozitif which enables them to listen good music during lunch hours. The same space changes its atmosphere with the arrangement of lighting system at night and becomes a live performance space integrated with Babylon Music Club. The first floor is designed to host private meetings and dinners for small groups and the remaining four floors are used by Pozitif offices.

Babylon Asmalımescit

Babylon Concert Centre in Beyoglu, has been restored from an existing repair shop and its façade has been designed with a high visibility at night. The red metal-plated surface, which marks the entrance door in the middle of the large grey walls, is curved and transformed into a large sheet of eave that protects those entering and leaving the place while emphasizing the gate.

Because of the technical requirements, the air conditioning ducts on the entrance façade are stored in metal mesh boxes and their industrial character is tamed to a certain degree.

TEB Izmir Regional Headquarters

Having been designed and constructed by Antonio Mongeri in 1928 for Banca Commerciale Italiana, the building functioned with the same purpose but different owners until 1979 and fell into ruins ten years following its abandonment. After TEB’s purchase of the building in 1988, Kreatif Architecture was selected for the development of restoration and renovation projects as the result of an invited competition.

Upon checking the original plans, provided by the former owner of the building (i.e. Banca Commerciale Italiana) from the main headquarters in Milan, it was found out that the structural system was severely damaged. The building was then strengthened in static terms and in line with its original structure by suspending the façade. The monumental atmosphere of the interiors and the resistance of the façade against time have triggered the idea of redesigning the building as a prestige structure which pays respect to the subjectivity of historical heritage rather than a mere headquarter for a bank which always functioned along those lines.

Operational and technological demands of contemporary banking system were installed into the building without harming its general characteristics, and both structural and material elements were selected for the interiors in harmony with the historical texture of the building.

Directory of Religion, Culture & Congress Centre

The main design goal of the project, which was presented to the invited competition for the planned culture, congress and media centre on the back of the Ahmed Hamdi Akseki Mosque inside the Ankara Religious Affairs Complex, is to place the congress centre in a busy area without disturbing the silhouette effect of a mosque behind.

It is suggested to see a city forest rising with a slope instead of a structure when viewed from the road. In anticipation of the area to be busy all day long, the roof and the surroundings of the newly constructed congress centre were transformed into a city park as green space.

The main conference hall for 1,500 persons is designed to allow for different uses with movable seats and layout. In addition to the main hall, two 235-seat conference rooms meet the needs of the congress centre’s meetings and other events. A media centre with a large, six small TV studios were designed, as well as a congress hall and a foyer on the rest of the complex. Exhibition hall, department head offices and library also form other functional parts of the centre.

Most of the studios are located on the underground with two-storey car park that enable the congress centre to be kept at the least possible height. Department offices, foyer and exhibition areas are lit by pitched sunken gardens and the visual connection between the interior and roof terrace is maintained.

The congress, culture and media centre is settled underneath the area by lifting an edge of it and it has been designed as a generous and humble structure that provides more than it takes from the area it’s been located.

Arcelik R&D Campus

Arçelik R&D campus, with a total of 73.000 sqm covered area inside a 40-acre lot located in Istanbul Çekmeköy, was the subject of the invited competition. The project includes a vocational high school for training technical personnel, laboratories, work offices and the Arcelik Museum.

A triangular forest area in the north of the forest was rented and included in the project, and a planning concept was adopted in the green area in the middle of the buildings with fragmented masses that this forest could leach in. Thanks to this approach, blocks inside the forest could be designed instead of the offices facing the forest.

The 9-acre section to the south of the lot is reserved for the future vocational high school. The vocational high school and the campus is divided by the common sports areas that both units can use.

By using the advantage of the sloped topography, rectangular blocks with large consoles connected to each other by open and semi-open spaces, constitute all the functions of the campus. Service spaces, auditoriums and parking lots that do not require daylight are located underground. The blocks installed on the main vertebra which flows from north to south accommodate all offices and working places.

In addition to the green spaces in the common areas, the roof gardens are designed as a spatial reflection of the changing contemporary work and office arrangement, as well as the shared enclosed spaces in which the daylight diffuses between the blocks.

Reji Cultural Centre

One of the most important units of Reji, a company which produced tobacco–the leading import item of the time- throughout the 19th century under the control of the Administration of Public Debt (Duyun-u Umumiye Idaresi), was a factory founded in 1884 in the Alsancak district of Izmir. The Alsancak complex is a unique industrial establishment, defined by 12 buildings of varying sizes.

Its close proximity to the Torbali axis, which is one of the major dynamics of urban development, grants the complex with a particular significance. The classicist approach in spatial organization, defined by the main buildings in the factory’s layout plans, demonstrates a sense of arrangement that is in harmony with the period’s industrial structures and their measures of principle. The subtle monumentalism of the main building, unique to grand industrial structures and the level of attention in the organization of minor buildings help create a cohesive image.

The restoration of the historical Reji Tobacco Factory as a multi-functional cultural complex through repairs will be a great value for Izmir. The main buildings in the complex, whose core structure has not been spoiled by auxiliary buildings, have been protected; however, the severely damaged minor buildings which once functioned as service and support units were redesigned in partnership with Tasarimevi according to the demands of a cultural centre.

This intervention model, which is very protective of the core concept, does not only allow the complex to sustain its cohesive image but also claims to set an example for vitalizing historical heritage. A concert venue has been created by keeping in place the baselines of the service and support buildings which were constructed much later at the back of the factory. Such functions as youth centre, book sales, cafes and restaurants have been introduced to historical buildings under conservation through repairs with the expectation that they will contribute to the social life of the city.

Montenegro Swissotel – Residence

Located on a small bay surrounded by steep slopes in the forest in Kotor, an important historic city under the protection of UNESCO on the southern coast of Montenegro’s tourism zone, the project consists of a total of 50,000 m² of accommodation and housing units. In addition to the hotel room with 133 rooms, there are totally 151 dwelling units in varying sizes in 6 different blocks.

A peaceful atmosphere with low density was tried to be created with minimum intervention within the natural environment. In addition, a planning study was carried out taking into consideration the direction of all the residential units and hotel rooms towards the view.

The residential blocks are designed as two and three storey adjacent units with hip roofs, an interpretation of the local architecture. The materials used were chosen to be natural, to gain patina and to be more compatible with the environment. The roof of the accommodation block with a large residential area is planned as a green roof.

Zeytinburnu Houses

Sitar Yapi Zeytinburnu Houses, is located in Istanbul Zeytinburnu’s in a very cramped and dense urban texture. The area is about 10 acres in size with a mosque on its corner. The project consists of two rectangular blocks with 90 degrees to each other and parallel to the edges of the plot to form a square with the mosque.

The blocks rising on a base where trade units are located on the ground level, has 12 and 13 floors respectively. It is the main objective of the project to create a small, permeable and vibrant public space that can be used by the inhabitants of the area and the people coming to the mosque. Instead of creating a closed housing site, thanks to these commercial units and the mosque it was possible to create a vibrant public space.

Alemdag Residences

STFA Alemdag Houses are located on a 16,500sqm area surrounded by other gated residential sites. The neighbouring parcel located on the northwest of the plot is devoted to the educational function. Entrances to the three different linear block with angular and irregular geometry are provided from the inner courtyards.

Single storey commercial units are planned on sides facing the main road, to serve both the houses on the ground level residents in the vicinity. The blocks, which are up to 5 floors in height at most are recessed from the road and the height sense is reduced when viewed from the road.

Teona Residences

Teona, which means sun gardens, is located in one of the newest centres of Ankara, Turkey. The project consists 533 flats in four blocks with a total of 160.000,00 m² of construction area on a 30-acre site in Umitkoy district. Kreatif Architects undertook the interior architectural design concept of the project.

It is aimed to make the residents of apartments maximize the use of spaces in their settlement solutions while paying attention to the fact that each apartment has comfortable balconies opened to the view.

In apartment interiors and communal areas, easy to maintain and clean materials and details that allow differences in colour and texture preferences of different users are chosen.

In the exterior design a simple modulation is applied with ceramic panels.

All the vehicle traffic is taken underground and the landscape of the project is free from vehicle traffic, leaving a freer space for pedestrians.

The sales office, which is considered as a temporary structure, is designed to be a reference structure for the region in terms of both the design and the material selection.

Citystar

15% of the project consisting of housing, office and shopping centre with a usage area of 100.000m² is allocated for shopping functions. Residential blocks with 28, 32, and 36 floors are located above a gradually rising base containing office units. The ground floor is completely devoted to the shopping function.

When approaching the mall area from the main road on foot, a drop-off zone is and vehicle approach is also provided. A large green area is reserved behind the plot for the use of the residents.

Sumgait Residence & Shopping Centre

The project area, Sumgait, is located on the north side of Baku which is a sparsely populated district of the city. Parallel to the road, 60 acres of the parcel is designed as commercial function and 80 acres of it is designed for residential purposes.

Considering the favourable climatic conditions, it’s decided to design low rise and accessible open spaces for the commercial block. Open spaces are enriched with the shading elements and the observation deck by bringing together the masses.

Pedestrian and vehicle axis passing through the commercial block is connected to the residential area located in the south. Also, there are recreational facilities and a school in order to serve residential area consisting 13 blocks in 260.000 sqm. construction area.

Padamdart Towers

“Padamart Towers” is ideally situated with a prominent, elevated position next to the TV tower and parliament buildings, featuring unrivalled views across the city and its crescent shaped bay. The towers with total construction area of 150.000m2 are positioned to benefit most from the Caspian Sea and the city view.

The mixed-use complex consists of two towers, residence and hotel blocks. The towers are set upon a shared base with a 6.000m2 area, that accommodates businesses, retail and entertainment facilities and numerous restaurants in addition to 3.000m2 health club.

There are 205 apartments of various sizes in the 30-storey residence tower. The hotel tower consists of three sections; in addition to the 11 floors with 152 rooms, there are also 45 lounges and 71 flats form the residence tower distributed to other floors with lounges located in the middle floors. There is a sky-restaurant on the top floor of the hotel.

The Golden Hill Shopping Centre and Residences

The Golden Hill Shopping Centre and Residences, located in Izmir, is formed by a shopping area on the lower level and two residential blocks above this base. Large volumes have been subtracted from the main mass of the shopping block on the facades where entrances and exits are located in order to emphasize the accesses in third dimension. The gap between the movie hall mass and the main mass of the base enable daylight to reach the circulation areas of the shopping mall below.

On the terrace level two high-rise residential towers are erected on 1.000sqm area. The A Block with 32 floors and B Block with 21 floors have been designed to face the sea view at 77 percent. Balconies have always played an important role in Izmir’s hot climate and in this project, various sized balconies help to differentiate the complex from its counterparts.

Koruflorya Residences and Shopping Mall

The architectural project of Koruflorya was undertaken by Broadway Malyan and Kraft Architecture whereas the interior architecture project was undertaken by Kreatif Architects of the mixed-use complex.

The size of the apartments varies between 3 to 7 bedroom apartments in the project, which consists of 298 houses and a shopping mall of two floors.

In Koruflorya Residences, privacy, large family structure and neighborhood relations were taken into account while designing the apartments with contemporary design features and low-maintenance, easy to use systems. It was aimed to create a timeless interior design independent from daily changing trends.

In order to present a flexible variety to the families to express their private life style, two different interior design styles were created called Dynamic and Elegant of which their materials and detailing can be varied in numerous ways. In this project, contemporary solutions in terms of technology and material were chosen to provide care-free easy to use living environments.

Nestortaköy

Nestortakoy residential project is designed for a long and narrow site in Ortakoy valley of Istanbul. Even though the requirements of the client as well as the current building codes allow architects to create a mono-block long mass, fragmented block typology was preferred. First apartments were built in Galata, Pera region by the end of the 19th century and then we see a proliferation of apartment typology in Tesvikiye, Kadikoy and Bakirkoy districts of Istanbul. The positive aspects of this typology has been in the collective memory of the public and Nestortakoy’s design principal was based on re-using these advantages adapted to contemporary requirements.

All the building capacity permitted by the legal regulations of the site has been distributed into six independent blocks that empower neighborhood relationships while maintaining a certain level of privacy. The decision to make six independent blocks enabled to create an optimum footprint size, ideal block height and a well-proportioned distance between buildings.

Even though the site was almost flat, half to one and a half meter level differences among blocks were created in order to maintain a separation between the ground floor flats’ gardens. These level differences form a boundary between gardens without using any walls or fences that helped to support a physical condition to sustain personal relationships while preserving privacy and property rights.

The blocks, which have four flats in each floor with a larger footprint size, have been located at the two ends of the site, while the blocks with two flats on each floor have been distributed among these. The six blocks incorporate 74 independent units of which 16 of them are duplex flats.

The main hall that dissects the blocks includes the stair and the elevator and service areas behind it. On each floor, the main hall starts with a large open niche that can be used by the residents as a meeting and resting space. These common spaces within the circulation areas are designed to foster occasional meetings with neighbours.

The lack of chances of which people may interact with each other decrease tolerance and increase conflicts in dense living environments. In order to overcome this situation in Nestortakoy project, stairs are spatially prioritized as meeting spaces instead of elevators that isolate neighbours and decrease the chance of meeting ups. Even though it became almost a convention in Istanbul to alter the size of living rooms according to the number of bedrooms in a flat, in Nestortakoy each flat was given the same size of living rooms, considering the importance of spatial requirements of accepting guests in Turkish culture.

All the living rooms are located on the southern side facing the green belt in front of the blocks and this green area is also leak into the areas between the blocks. The apartment blocks are set back from the main road as much as possible for creating a green area in front of them as well as for establishing a visual and acoustic privacy. The high vertical retaining wall on the north side of the site has been equipped with ivy that will cover it with green in a short period of time.

Tennis and basketball fields are located on the East part of the site, while an open pool and supporting facilities are located on the West end of the site. The blocks are interconnected by the car parks underneath the ground level and maintenance-free, self-cleaning ceramic tiles and soil coloured aluminium panels were covered on the façades of the apartment blocks.

Ormanada – Interior Design

Special attention was given to create unique streets for families with varied sizes and lifestyles in the 220-acre project area which is surrounded by forests in Zekeriyaköy İstanbul. In order to make the residents feel as if they are living in different neighbourhoods, rather than a large dull settlement, small squares, parks and variously shaped streets were designed. While maximum daylight was a primary concern in the design of the houses, necessary privacy conditions were maintained.

The direction and location of the houses, details and material choices were carefully studied in order to create a sustainable settlement that is coherent with the surrounding nature. Interior design of the houses has the flexibility and choices which will enable the residents to reflect their own identities and lifestyles with abundant easy usage and maintenance features in visually coherent styles.