Istanbul’s ‘Accidentally Ecofriendly’ Architects

Architect Hasan Çalışlar says he doesn’t incorporate “green” features in his buildings because they’re environmentally friendly — he only uses them if they “make you feel better in the space.” For his firm’s design for a telecommunications building on the outskirts of Istanbul, that meant working with the slope of the site, maximizing natural light, creating an open architectural style, and adding some rooftop green space. Perhaps you could call it accidentally eco-friendly architecture.

In the case of the Turkcell building, completed last June, both its site and its intended use lent themselves to incorporating eco-friendly features. The techies who work at the 800-person building travel far to get there and often work long hours, sometimes spending days on end in the office while under a project deadline. “The building has to help maintain that kind of lifestyle,” says Süngü, so it includes a variety of amenities — from a fitness center to dorms for overnight stays to a movie screen that drops down in the main stairway so workers can watch important football matches.