The Atatürk Cultural Center will be built to accommodate performances of international stature and designed to contemporary requirements and current technologies. As a very comprehensive urban structure, the center is also expected to be a major attraction for the city’s residents and thousands of tourists visiting from around the world. The announcement of the new Ataturk Cultural Center was made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Murat Tabanlıoğlu, founder of Tabanlioglu Architects, architect for the center, said: “It is very gratifying to have taken over such a heritage, beyond that, of course, we see this building to be a permanent cultural symbol for Turkey and the world. I was very excited to be invited by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism months ago to work on this project.” He shared his feelings and added,” Since the needs and functions of a cultural establishment and the building have changed over time, they have to be renewed in spatial, structural, and modern terms with current solutions. It is inevitable to incorporate technical requirements and possibilities into such a structure, especially at the point of performing a very special and complex function like opera. Eventually, architecture, technology, infrastructure and systems needed fresh blood for the performance of opera and ballet, and the recent condition of the center did not meet the need, moreover like people, in terms of structure the buildings get old and weaken. So, of course, with the principle of staying true to the collective memory of the city, we kept the dimensions and its significant façade of the 60’s, and conveyed the building into the 21 st century.
The building is planned to measure highly on sustainability criteria, and evaluated to the highest standards of technological performance and architectural design, in the context of its surroundings as well. AKM will be one of the world’s most prominent opera houses and cultural centers, providing unrivaled, rich performances that often require complex technologies for staging, lighting, and acoustical excellence.
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