A management, research and development building for Aksoy Technal’s factory that produces components for architectural façade treatments in Izmit, northwest Turkey .

New façade treatments are affording architects a far richer range of effects and are having profound impacts on the overall design of buildings. Technological advances have made it possible for the load baring elements of a building to be lighter in weight than the load itself, creating a range of new structural and formal possibilities. For a new office building for a company who invests in experiments in new façade treatments GAD employed the latest technology to develop a   façade that introduces a new architectural language to the form and style of conventional industrial buildings made from modular units.
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Given Turkey’s history of earthquakes, the main shell of the new 1,200 square meter administrative building, built in front of an existing factory building, was made using post-tension concrete in which high-strength steel tendons, in combination with steel bars, are embedded and anchored in the concrete creating a very thin but strong structural support system. The most revolutionary aspect of the building, however, is the technology developed for the reflective glass and steel curtain wall that surrounds the building giving additional structural support. The wall consists of a series of post-tensioned glass plates, each 10 meters high by 30 meters wide by 25 meters long, supported by a framework of steel columns, each of which is 16 centimeters in diameter. The steel profiles extend beyond the width of the building and in places continue to the ground. Where they protrude past the edge of the building they function as a frame for the adjacent courtyard. At the top of the building, the steel rods are tapered slightly, creating the impression that the building rises to a narrow perspective. This structural and aesthetic feature adds an element of surprise to the building and makes it stand out against the banal backdrop of the nearby factory building.

It is worth noting that during the 1999 earthquake in Turkey, the adjacent 7000m2 production facility, designed and built with prefabricated elements was completely destroyed and needed to be reconstructed, while the new building designed by GAD remained intact, with no damage done to the glass facade.