Kızılay Emek Business Center

Emek Business Center at Kızılay Square in Ankara was one of the first International Style highrise buildings in Turkey.
Kızılay Square in Ankara during the 2013 protests in Turkey, with the Emek Business Center at right.

Emek Business Center is a 22 storey highrise building in Kızılay Square, Ankara, Turkey. Inspired by the Lever House building in New York City, it was designed in 1959 as one of the first International Style highrise buildings in Turkey.[1] At the time of its completion in 1965, it was the tallest building in Ankara.[1]

Construction

The building was commissioned by the Emekli Sandığı (Pension Fund, abbreviated as Emek) bound to the Social Security Administration of Turkey, and was built between 1959 and 1965 as a revenue generating property.[2] The architects were Enver Tokay and İlhan Tayman, and the statics engineer was Yusuf Berdan.[2]

It was one of the first International Style highrise buildings in Turkey, and the first with a glass curtain wall facade.[1] Its design was primarily inspired by the Lever House (1952) building, blended with some of the facade characteristics of the United Nations Secretariat Building (1952) in New York City.[1]

The ground floor and the first two floors were designed as a shopping center, while the other floors were reserved for offices. The building is situated to the southeast of Kızılay Square, opposite to the Kızılay (Turkish Red Crescent) building, which gives the square its name.

Construction works temporarily stopped due to the 1960 coup d'état, which delayed the completion and opening date to 1965.

Privatization

On March 8, 2006, the Privatization Board of Turkey sold the building for $55,500,000 to Talip Kahraman Construction Co.[3][4] The center is now under renovation. There is a heated discussion on the future use of the building.

List of 50 projects

Turkish Chamber of Civil Engineers lists Kızılay Emek Business Center as one of the fifty civil engineering feats in Turkey, a list of remarkable engineering projects realized in the first 50 years of the chamber.[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Emporis: Emek Business Center
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Turkish Chamber of Civil Engineers: Kızılay Emek Business Center (1959–1965)
  3. ↑ Privatization Board of Turkey: List of privatization sales in 2006
  4. ↑ Privatization Board of Turkey: List of privatization sales between 1999 and 2010
  5. ↑ Turkish Chamber of Civil Engineers: 50 projects in 50 years

External links