Tema Istanbul showroom is a 1.500 sqm. building located in Halkalı, Istanbul, Turkey. The building functions mainly as a showroom space for Tema Istanbul, a multi-purpose project containing 4000 residential units, a luxury hotel, a family entertainment complex and a shopping center. The showroom contains mock-up apartment flats of the Tema Istanbul Residential Complex, a central gallery displaying the model of the 4000 residential units along with visual panels of the overall project, and administrative and sales offices.
Facing the Istanbul TEM (Trans European Motorway) where thousands of vehicles pass throughout the day, the building sits on a sloped green landscape while stretching towards the highway. The functional portion of the building is covered with a reflective glass curtain wall. The structure sits on a black pool that reflects the under portion of the building, creating an elevated effect. The white elliptical steel ribs surround the building; unify the building as a whole. Based on the time of day, this envelope generates different visual interactions in relation with its context, thus drawing attention to itself. During the day, the functional portion of the building seems almost invisible due to the mirrored façade reflecting the surroundings, leaving the white ribs to appear as if they were floating in space. While at night, when the steel ribs are lit with LEDs, the building transforms into sculpture of light; an autonomous shining object in the dark, slowly changing in color.
The program of the building is divided amongst three floors. The entrance level housing the main sales offices, bank offices, the model showcase and graphic panels is accessed through a wood covered bridge that pierces through the first elliptical rib. The first floor containing the model apartment flats is accessed through a gallery space overlooking the model of the residential complex. The basement level contains staff rooms and support spaces.
The interior concept of the showroom is based on the idea of reinforcing the depth of space through the use of a single green color on various different objects and surfaces. The first impression of spatial depth is achieved through the green color on the back panel of the main foyer. Acting as the first visual cue, the panel draws the attention of the visitor, inviting them into the space. Once inside, the visitor will also encounter the green color on different surfaces of the interior such as: the carpet of the offices, the enameled painted glass walls of the WC’s, services, and sample flats, the plexi cover of the lift cabin, the interior foliage, the office seating elements, the front cover of the director’s table, the green Venetian Murano glass tubes of the staircase chandelier, and the green LEDs. Throughout the interior space, the multiple uses of the green color act as harmonizing elements of visual cues and way-finding components. The exterior landscaping also adds to the unifying effect of the green color. Thus ,visual continuity is achieved through the interior and exterior relationships of depth and color.
