Cankaya Municipality Sports and Cultural Center | AURA Design Studio

Cankaya Municipality Sports and Culture Complex, which continues its tender preparations in Karapınar District of Ankara, was designed by AURA Design Studio. The complex, which includes many functions for the social needs of the region such as indoor swimming pool, gymnasiums, library, family health center, plays an important public role between the valley and the dense residential area.

AURA Design Studio, which has many award-winning projects in different typologies in the fields of architecture, city planning, and landscape architecture, has designed Cankaya Municipality Sports and Culture Center. Cankaya Municipality Sports and Culture Center is located close to the Karapınar Valley which is recreation works in progress, dominating the valley and detectable from the Konya Road.  The Project is still in the province of Karapınar District in Ankara, has an indoor pool, sports center, library, workshops, multi-purpose hall and family health center. It aims to assume the role of an important public complex between the valley and dense residential area, accommodating many public functions.

Keep structure design in perspective

 The public complex consists of two 4-story buildings, one with a swimming pool and gymnasiums and the other is a Cankaya House. It includes a social facility and a family health center. The landscape area is located at different levels between these two buildings extending to the valley. The terraces of the library and the Pilates hall connect with the landscape. The landscape that is planned in accordance with the open-air cinema that the municipality actively organizes in the summer is designed as a place of public transition and social interaction. At the end of this transition area, there is an arcade connecting the two structures. With the help of this arcade, which connects the lower elevation entrances of both buildings, a holistic approach is desired between the different facades of the buildings.

 The indoor swimming pool and the gym structure, which consists of four floors and covers an area of 5200 m², is located on sloping land. By taking advantage of this slope in design, building entrances from different elevations were created. The lower elevation, which is facing the valley, has been connected with pool and locker rooms. The upper elevation has been connected with the cafeteria directly.

 In the building where two entrances are constructed by taking advantage of the elevation differences on the sloping land, there are fitness, aerobics and spinning salons belonging to the gym on the first basement floor. The facade of the aerobics hall, which faces the recreation area between Karapınar Cankaya House and Karapınar Swimming Pool, is also connected with the exterior. In addition, a children's playground for the child of a member of the sports is also organized on this floor.  Spinning room is designed with a view of the valley and acoustically appropriate materials and there is a gallery from the 2nd basement floor to the ground floor in the floor hall.

Different solutions for different functions

Cankaya House, which consists of four floors and covers an area of 1658 m², includes social facilities and family health center. The main entrance and multi-purpose hall connections are provided from the lower elevation facing the valley. The entrance to the family health center was designed separately from the Cankaya House. In the general design of the building, there is a circulation line in the middle section. Large volumes such as a workshop, multi-purpose hall, and 24-hour library are planned on one side of this circulation line. On the other side of the circulation line, service areas such as kitchens and toilets supporting other volumes are designed.

 In the second basement floor where Cankaya House and the main connection are located, there is an administrative office, multi-purpose hall and related units, technical volumes and wet volumes serving the multi-purpose hall. The entrance plateau with soffit, which runs along the building entrance, continues in front of the multi-purpose hall and extended to the social interaction area designed between Cankaya House and the swimming pool. The connection with arcade extending from Cankaya House towards the park has been defined and the integrity of the campus has been ensured.

 In the first basement floor where the library, a children's library game, and fairy tale room and the services of these spaces are located, the wide terrace in front of the library is connected to the intermediate transition axis, and in the summer months, it is aimed to expand the working areas on the terraces and green axis. Independent of Cankaya House, Family Health Center  and service areas of these units are planned on the ground floor. Transportation of the people with disabilities and patients and also the different time usage are considered. A function placement has been made so that the functions can support each other positively. In the Cankaya House region of the floor, a large painting workshop facing the Karapınar Valley has also been designed.

Workplaces and its services facing the park between the two buildings, the social interaction area, and Karapınar Valley are located on the first floor.

The rhythm of the design

The structure created to support the main design decision, the circulation line in the facade arrangement was covered with more transparent curtain glass systems, providing the two masses to be perceived separately. The mass with the service areas is in dark anthracite color and the other mass is in white.

In the facade which is facing the valley where Çankaya House's main entrance is provided, the multi-purpose hall and the main entrance are highlighted with high steel constructions with skylight and this facade layout is continued in the park and swimming pool front via arcades.

Dynamism was added to the structure with the rhythm created using anthracite in white mass and white expanded metal sunscreen panels in anthracite mass in contrast with the floor in front of the window.