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3XKO and Benoy design a shopping mall inspired by Istanbul’s dense geometric sprawl

3XKO and Benoy design a shopping mall inspired by Istanbul’s dense geometric sprawl

International architecture firm 3XKO, founded by architect brothers Korkut Özgenler, Korkmaz Özgenler and Koray Özgenler, has recently completed the interior design of the Vadistanbul Shopping Centre. Collaborating with Benoy architects, 3XKO worked on the project which is situated in the heart of the Cendere Valley Masterplan. which was a former industrial area, now being gentrified.

One of the main features of the mall is that it has one of the biggest free form roofs structures in Turkey. The skylight brings daylight to the lowest levels of the mall and transforms it into a sculpture by applying dynamic lighting systems which emphasise the architectural character of the steel structure.

Derived from Istanbul’s city patterns and density, the geometric forms and patterns are reflected on all vertical elements including shop partitions, columns, walls and escalators. The overall design is based on the following three main characters: the city, the stream and the forest.

The buildings organically shaped ceiling elements reflect the colour and textures on all floors emphasising the forest feature along with other natural forms in a strong way and creates a link between each other. Colour elements from the nature, such as blue and earth tones and their textures are reflected in the execution of the bathrooms in natural stone. Marble, ceramics and timber materials have been applied on the mall floors and walls.

Along with that all vertical elements such as shop front partitions, walls, columns and escalators reflect Istanbul’s city pattern and illustrate the density, dynamics and geometry of the streetscapes.

3XKO was appointed to deliver the entire public retail interior and street retail frontage design execution and tender documentation along with the coordination of all sub consultants and suppliers for the 100,000 m² retail scheme.

Vadistanbul Shopping Centre is a three-storey fourth-generation retail centre, which consists of 250 shops, a foodcourt with a roof terrace with views to the forest of the Cendere Valley. In addition, 3XKO also delivered the interiors of the first Monorail station built in Turkey which was integrated to the shopping centre connecting it with the Istanbul Metro Station, Seyrantepe.

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