The Seafarers’ Union of Türkiye Office Building

2025, Kadıköy, Istanbul, Turkey

Set within a triangular plot under intense urban development pressure, the project aims to embody the values of the institution it represents—such as pluralism and sustainability—through its dynamic facade, making these values an integral part of the building’s character. Here, architecture enables the institutional representation of a community facing growing social and economic pressures to become visible within the urban fabric.

The Seafarers’ Union of Türkiye Office Building was developed in Kadıköy–Bostancı on a tight urban plot, pressured by its surrounding fabric and defined by a near-triangular geometry.

The project seeks to transform these constraints into a clear, legible, and long-lasting office building—one that reads the planning envelope and urban continuity rather than dissolving into a compromised mass. Its intent is not to pursue grand architectural claims, but to establish a restrained, plain-spoken building character that resolves the program rigorously through an ordered set of decisions.

The building is structured around a 7.20 m horizontal structural grid that governs the plan. This primary datum is further articulated in both façade and interior organization through a proportional system derived from subdividing 7.20 m into 1.80 m and its multiples (3.60–5.40 m), producing a rhythmic frame language.

More than a formal motif, this measure becomes a spatial instrument: it calibrates the open-office layout, supports office units that can be subdivided on each floor when required, and regulates the dimensions of work islands, meeting rooms, service bands, and circulation.

The plot’s broken geometry necessitates a “compressed yet readable” service spine: the lift, main stair, and fire stair are consolidated with supporting spaces, allowing the office floors to remain as continuous and flexible as possible.

The ground level is conceived as an urban threshold; while the entrance hall and reception clarify user flow, the waiting area is designed as an adaptable intermediate space that can shift into short meetings or ad-hoc work throughout the day. Support functions are carefully controlled at this level, while parking and technical infrastructure are consolidated in the basement, reinforcing the continuity of daylit, open-plan office floors above.

The façade constitutes the project’s second key instrument. The modular frame system establishes scale and rhythm in relation to its context, while also operating as a climatic filter: solar control and rain protection are resolved through façade depth and the continuity of its elements. In this way, maximum daylight is brought into the workspace and user comfort is strengthened through the envelope’s performance.

Across its lifespan, the building is guided by the principle of adaptability with minimal intervention.

The structural grid and modular façade provide a measured ground for subdivision and transformation, while a restrained approach to materials and detailing aims to reduce maintenance demands and operational costs. Ultimately, the project addresses the challenging boundaries of an ordinary urban plot through grid-based spatial flexibility and a tectonic façade with environmental performance, clarifying the hierarchy between ground-floor threshold, office floors, and technical infrastructure to propose a robust, adaptable, and measured office building.