ARCHITECTURAL FOCUS
AYTAC ARCHITECTS
LIKE A ROCK : ZENEL DISTINGUISHES ITSELF WITHIN THE TURKISH COASTAL LANDSCAPE
Aytaç Architects , a multi award-winning firm that strives to create powerful and clear design solutions unique to their surroundings , proudly introduce Zenel , a 14-story residential building that has distinguished itself within the Turkish coastal landscape .
Zenel , located in the upscale Erenköy neighborhood in what ’ s commonly known as Istanbul ’ s Asian side , rises above a 1,138m ² site situated near vibrant Bagdat Avenue , which runs approximately 14 km from east to west along the coastline of the Sea of Marmara .
As opposed to old Istanbul , this relatively new neighborhood has been developed with a grid pattern formed by the east-west axis of Bagdat Avenue . Accordingly , the ground plane of the building site follows the “ Bagdat Grid ” parallel to the avenue , while the aerial plane of Zenel rotates southward towards the Prince Islands , an archipelago located approximately 10 km south of the Sea of Marmara coast .
A contextually unique design
That combination of forces allows the building to torque , from top to bottom , between the Bagdat grid and views of the islands , creating a sort of crystallized molten rock effect that is rugged and weathered on the outside , but pristine and polished on the inside .
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