Divan Kurucesme

The Bosphorus Strait of Istanbul, Turkey, is the city’s most prominent topographic feature and an essential part of the city’s identity. The shoreline of the Bosphorus on both the Asian and European sides, with its historical urban fabric, is an architectural preservation zone with strict building regulations designed to limit the size and scope of building in the area. The project event space is located in the Kurucesme district on the European side of the Bosphorus; the design for the Divan Hotel group factored in the preservation of the existing fabric with new contemporary functions. The architectural strategy for the project subtly introduced a new language for a seaside site, drawing references to the existing historic fabric of stone retaining walls, terraces, vaults, and arches belonging to a pair of no longer existing Bosphorus yali or mansions. Construction of new visible features was limited to the extension of the main event hall terrace with an undulating steel structure and canopy, creating a “wavy” roof, covering the main multipurpose event space and reflecting the waves of the Bosphorus. The Bosphorus Strait is the most prominent topographic feature and an important part of Istanbul’s identity. With its historical urban fabric, this seaside location on the strait of the Bosphorus is a cultural heritage zone that played into the design by mixing past and present layers of the site’s archaeology. In this way, the design for the Divan Kurucesme had to factor in the historical importance of the Bosphorus while also providing a contemporary setting for events in terms of space and functionality. The semi-transparent steel and glass canopy with the brick walls, arches, and vaults of the retaining walls accentuate the historical fabric of the Bosphorus in an architectural strategy that also creates a dynamic, modern architecture in a spatial sense. It means that historical continuity in materials and forms did not equate necessarily with a restoration model for updating traditional architecture. Instead, the exposed remains have been unified to create intriguing place relationships and views up and down the site and within the historical remains and from the Bosphorus itself.