Istanbul TV & Radio Tower
Architect: MAA – Melike Altınışık Architects
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Type: TV & Radio Tower
Year: 2024
Photographs: NAARO
The following description is courtesy of the architects. Designed by MAA – Melike Altınışık Architects, an international architecture practice with offices in Istanbul and Seoul, work on the telecommunication tower has been on-going since 2015. Istanbul’s futuristic 369m meter-tall new telecommunication tower seeks a sense of motion and rhythm within its silhouette that changes when viewed from different directions around Istanbul.
Istanbul Radio & Tower is not a line or a trace, but an expression of history, culture, communication, and interaction. Moreover, it is a sociological aspect of the silhouette and statement of the city to its citizen in line with its needs.
It is the reflection of its nature. Tower has an organic structure that is not familiar within the urban fabric of Istanbul. The main design inputs such as wind direction, local topography, and the sceneries reflected in the form of the tower.
Its architectural formations combine elegance and beauty with math and geometry, whose innovative concept allows inhabitable spaces to be attached to the whole of the tower’s core.
In this unique tower which requires advanced engineering techniques both in terms of architectural design and construction methodology, all the design features, architectural planning and material selections were made considering these processes.
While wind testing was employed to confirm the monumental structure’s overall stability, it was also used to develop the unique facade design and optimize how the load of the building envelope would act on the concrete core. The engineered facade not only provides structural optimization but allows for inhabitable space to radiate around the tower’s central concrete core.
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A Building that Turns into a Space of Dialogue and Exploration
The telecommunication tower will house two-story 360 view restaurant and observation deck overlooking views of Istanbul, from Asia to Europe. There is also a public foyer, café, exhibition and mediatic areas inside the entrance podium. Interior design was developed since the building includes unique spaces that offer a new experience and contain futuristic design characters.
Panorama Elevators will rise on both sides of the building as elements that feed and divide the monolithic body. Visitors will experience a vertical travel along the 180 meters towards the historical peninsula on the one side, Black Sea Coasts on the other side. They will be able to watch Istanbul from the observation and restaurant floors located 400m above sea level.
The main purpose is to create surprising encounters by establishing strong relationships with where it is located, using light, nature, and spatial spaces; so that it may change people’s perspective, and courage them think differently.
The new landmark structure completed its construction process and has started its main telecommunication functions in November 2020. Istanbul TV and Radio Tower opened its doors to public use in May 2021 and since then it is welcoming the visitors from all over the world.
Project Details
- Location: Istanbul, Turkey
- Area: 29000m²
- Year: 2020
Project Team
- Client: UDHB – Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure
- Architect: MELIKE ALTINISIK ARCHITECTS – MAA
- Project Director: Melike Altınışık
- Project Design Team: Melike Altınışık in collaboration with Daniel Widrig
- Project Architects: Özge Çağlayan, Tuğba Okçuoğlu, Ayça Yontarım
- Project Team: Melih Altınışık,Tan Akıncı, Begüm Aktaş, İrem Coşkun, Gül Ertekin, Büşra Güler, Çiğdem Nur Kebapçı, Selçuk Kişmir, Thomas Kleinow, Samed Tezgah, Ahmet Ünveren, Alev Cansu Ovalı
- Architectural Assistants: Ali Arslan, Yunus Emre Demirkıran, Zoe Georgio, Mazyvdas Samuolis, Beste Sensöz,
- Competition Team: Melike Altınışık in collaboration with Daniel Widrig and Florian Dubiel (visualisation)
- Structural Engineer: Balkar
- Structural Peer Review: Thorton Tomasetti
- Telecomunication Engineer: ABE Teknoloji
- Electrical Engineer: HB Teknik
- Mechanical Engineer: Çilingiroğlu
- Wind Engineer: RWDI
- Facade Engineer: Newtecnic
- Landscape Architect: DS Landscape
- Fire Strategy Consultant: Etik
- Vertical Circulation Consultant: 3TEK
- Acoustic Consultant: Pro-Plan
- Lighting Design Consultant: Realities United, Darklighting
- Way Finding Design Consultant: POMPAA
- Quantity Survey and Fee Estimation: Entegre Project Management
- Photography: NAARO
