Soyak Kristalkule | Finansbank Headquarters | Pei Cobb Freed & Partners Architects LLP

Occupying an exceptional site at the heart of Istanbul’s new central business district, the Kristalkule complex integrates diverse components while engaging two very different urban contexts.

Facing the burgeoning CBD, with its cluster of highrises, the 35-story glass tower anchors the east end of the site and animates the skyline with a distinctive prismatic form. The upper levels house a soaring sky garden and event space; at street level the building is fronted by a generous entry plaza on one side, while on the other it is joined to an extensive stone-clad base that supports, at the opposite end, a twelve-story office block. With a travertine stone curtain wall and punched windows, the smaller tower reflects the scale and materiality of the adjacent lowrise neighborhood. The base serves as the unifying element, creating cohesion between the two distinct forms.

SITE
Istanbul, Turkey

COMPONENTS
90,000 m2 / 970,000 ft2 gross area; 170-meter-tall tower, 3-level office complex with a lineal garden, multi-use auditorium, restaurant, cafeteria, and parking for 1,100 cars.

CLIENT
Soyak Construction & Trading Co. (base building); Finansbank (interiors)

PCF&P SERVICES
Architecture, exterior envelope, interior design

SUSTAINABILITY
LEED Silver Certified

AWARDS
Skyscraper Award (#7)
Emporis, 2014

International Architecture Award
Chicago Athenaeum / European Centre, 2016

Design Award of Honor
Society of American Registered Architects, 2015