Erdoğan orders block of presidential palace rebuilt for concerts: Report

ANKARA

The report said engineers and architects are still searching for other ways to allow the presidential congress center to host concerts without rebuilding it.

Turkish President Erdoğan has reportedly ordered a block of the new presidential palace be rebuilt so it can host concerts and similar events. Meanwhile, a leading architect in Ankara has claimed the ‘“The staff of the palace is likely to suffer from sick building syndrome” due to “dense magnetism.”

Construction is ongoing at Turkey’s new presidential palace, which has been a source of controversy since President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan moved in last year, but problems have arisen with the project, a Turkish daily reported Feb. 10.

Erdoğan ordered one of two blocks of the congress center at the presidential complex to be demolished, after engineers and architects reported it was not possible for the building to host concerts, in accordance with the Turkish president’s request, which came after the approval of the plan, daily Evrensel reported. 

The report said engineers and architects are still searching for other ways to allow the building to host concerts without rebuilding it.

The congress center, as well as a mosque (below), which was first seen in photographs published on Feb. 10, has almost been completed. A horse farm, which was also not present in the initial plan, is expected to be built soon, according to the report.


‘Sick building syndrome’

Meanwhile, a leading architect in Ankara has claimed the staff of new presidential complex risk suffering from “sick building syndrome” (SBS).

“The staff of the palace is likely to suffer from sick building syndrome, both physically and psychologically, due to an area of dense magnetism,” Tezcan Karakuş Candan, the local head of the Chamber of Architects and Engineers’ (TMMOB) told Hürriyet on Feb. 9. “Trees that were planted in the complex are dying out. 3,000 of them have already been cut,” she added.

Several jammers and some 3,000 security cameras operate at the complex. The Ankara branch of the Chamber of Electrical Engineers had previously announced that 50 elevators had been built, with another 20 planned to be added for a total sum of 17.5 million Turkish Liras ($7 million dollars) plus added value tax.

Sick building syndrome is an illness affecting workers in office buildings, characterized by skin irritations, headaches and respiratory problems, and thought to be caused by indoor pollutants, microorganisms, or inadequate ventilation.