PROJECT
AFA Cultural Center
LOCATION
Sakarya, Turkey
DATE
2016 – tbc
CLIENT
Sakarya Metropolitan Municipality
STATUS
Commission, In Progress
SIZE
15000 m2
ARCHITECT
MELIKE ALTINISIK ARCHITECTS
DESIGN
Melike Altınışık
LEAD ARCHITECT
İrem Coşkun
PROJECT TEAM
Tan Akıncı, Büşra Güler, Begüm Aktaş, Matija Kuzman, Ali Uçar, Çiğdem Nur Kebapçı, Samed Tezgah, Kübra Karahan, Damla Soyseven
Architectural Asistants: Melis Dağ, Ali Arslan, Özge Bayam, Nurcan Sütçü, Eda Adıgüzel, Gizem Fidan, Utku Emre Tekat, Şeyma Özübek, Burak Çelik
PROJECT DESIGN DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST
Melih Altınışık
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
Balkar
ELECTRICAL ENGINEER
HB Teknik
MECHANICAL ENGINEER
Cilingiroglu
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
DS Landscape
LIGHTING DESIGN
Dark Lighting
FIRE CONSULTANCY
Abdurrahman Kılıç
ACOUSTIC CONSULTANCY
Mezzo Studio
STAGE SOUND & LIGHTING CONSULTANCY
Atempo
VISUALISATION
Marcelo Fernandes
Melike Altınışık Architects asked to design the AFA Cultural Center which creates the fluidity of the perception with its iconic character and combines it with the soul of the contemporary Cultural Activities in the city of Sakarya. It will merge the local and the visitor community of all generations under a single roof with two auditoriums, their associated facilities and the surrounding public cultural plaza.
AFA aims to define the cultural axis running from southwest to northeast in the city center. The main entrance to the cultural center is aligned with the main Street and connecting into a linear foyer which is surrounding two big auditoriums and linked by a narrow canyon towards the VIP entrance on the backside of the building.
The two auditoriums are clustered around this main foyer with the grand auditorium on the West side of the building and the small theathre on the east side of the building. The huge volume for foyer spaces serve as important orientation spaces, allowing people to understand and if necessary remap their trajectories.
The exterior skin of the building wraps around the auditoriums into the main foyer, thereby heightening the sense that this space is an extension of the urban public realm.Passing from the public plaza, through this the main entrance , the visitors arrive at the main foyer and they experience the cantilivered balcony and canyon like space in between the two auditoriums themselves.
The design aims to bring the audience into the auditoriums at the entrance level of the building. While The Grand auditorium stage level is on first basement, the small theatre stage level is 1m above the Street level. While elevators leads directly from the main foyer up into the balcony level there are also staircases which take the visitors up to the balcony level. An internal bridge connects balcony foyer levels from the grand auditorium towards the small theatre.
MAA’s design for AFA Cultural Center will allow an emergence of a new space which will enable people the chance to explore the cultural activities in the city of Sakarya.
