An administrative annex in a 42-acre industrial park on the grounds of the Yalova-Elyaf textile factory in Yalova, a small city on the Marmara coast in northwest Turkey. The landscape is characterized by energy transmitters, bridges, towers and silos.

The brief called for an addition to the existing Yalova-Elyaf textile factory that would be seen from the main road and on the side of which would be hung the company’s signage board. The project provided an opportunity to rethink nondescript factory complexes and create an eye-catching design for an administrative office with training rooms and conference areas to serve the existing 25 year old factory building. Limited construction time meant that the building had to be quick and easy to assemble using modular components. The result is a light steel structure that was quick to erect. Made from panels that can be pulled out, reset or substituted, the entire building can be dismantled and reconstituted at another site if needed.

What makes the building stand out is the innovative façade that is far removed from the cheap cladding predominantly used on industrial sheds. The triple glass frontage is comprised of a range of glass and steel composite panels that both allow light to penetrate the interior spaces and in places give shade. In addition, an economic climate system is achieved through the variations in the panels. The reflective material, which causes the façade to subtly shift in color as you walk round the building or as the light alters. Fortuitously, the signage board that is attached to the side, hides the ventilation ducts, connected to the central heating pipes that expand from the ground to the roof, from view.

During the 1999 earthquake, the annex building unlike the surrounding structures stayed completely intact and was used as a temporary hospital and shelter.