Atatürk Cultural Center construction set to be finished in June

ISTANBUL

Eighty-two percent of the construction of the Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM) in Istanbul’s Taksim has been finished. The center has been under construction since Feb. 10, 2019. Architectural works of the structure have been carried out by Murat Tabanlıoğlu, the son of the architect of the first AKM, Hayati Tabanlıoğlu.

Within the scope of COVID-19 measures, the works in the construction area are carried out in accordance with the social distancing rules. The initial construction of the building has been completed and the fin façade construction has started.

The preparations for fine work, suspended ceilings, glass wall, glass joinery and floor covering inside the AKM building are continuing. The natural stone paving works on the facade and interiors of AKM, which consists of five blocks, have also been completed.

The construction of the active stage and opera hall of AKM continues. The work on the opera tower, made using 15,000 specially handmade red ceramics, has been completed.

The AKM will include an opera hall with a capacity of 2,040 people. It has four basements and nine floors on an area of 48,705 square meters.

Its 16,228-square-meter theater hall has a capacity of 805 people and it consists of four basements and five floors. There will also be foyer areas, workshop and storage areas, ballet study halls, soloist and orchestra study rooms, recording studio and rehearsal halls, art galleries, exhibition halls and “nation cafes.”

In addition, there will be an art gallery, a restaurant, cafe, book cafe, children’s art center, music platform, library, design shop and a multi-purpose hall on the Culture Street of the AKM project.

The aim of the project is to get maximum efficiency from daylight in the facade design of the building. Also, the green roof system, designed with an environmentally friendly approach, stage mechanics system, prepared using the latest technology, halls, shaped by the contributions of world-famous acoustic designers, and rehearsal rooms are among the important features of the project.

The construction is set to be completed in June.