FROM STONE QUARRY TO NEW LIFE
Capital Ankara is Turkey’s second largest city after İstanbul. The site, Gölbaşı district includes the Mogan and Eymir lakes that are valuable natural resources and popular picnic and excursion spots of the city. The project site is an old stone quarry. 108,000sqm project land is defined as for 152,000sqm construction, housing-led mixed use with a 7,000sqm retail zone, housed at the podium of the construction. Terrace housing composes the contours of the horizontal block, and the residential towers rise above them. In addition, resembling the local architecture, 4 to 6 floor apartment building typology is preferred as an the illustrative of the street façade. Mix of relevant typologies, with gardens and terraces, residences differ in size and form; the towers grant wide alternatives.
A wide range of housing mix aims to bring socially divers users together. Long and thin arc shaped land overlooks the Lake. Ensuring privacy to every house without losing the views and natural light, all units situated in the zigzag form at optimum angles, in order, to exclusively benefit the natural panorama. Reaching from the street level, the retail and promenade valley smoothly welcomes the pedestrians in to the open, semi-open and closed spaces. Over the retail zone, the roof of the plinth is designed as a green landscaped interval before the residents. The houses are situated above this man-made ground, sharing the communal area dedicated to dwellers only, hence, the semipublic layer smoothly clears off the public layer dedicated to retail area below the podium. The back side of the retail shelters the two storey underground parking. Backing the buildings, the existing remains of the rocks of the quarry kept as they are, and the natural texture is enriched with greenery aiming to respect the genius loci. Moreover, the colors and the textures of rock walls are mimicked on the solid facades of all buildings.
