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ZRL Levent is a competition proposal for a mixed-use residential tower in Istanbul, Turkey. ZRL Levent is the second in a series of three competitions focusing on the residential developments in Turkey. The site is located in Levent, a rapidly developing business center in Istanbul.
The project consists of a base or podium, which runs the length of the site, with retail at the street level. The residential tower sits at the front of the site, and is the gateway to the rest of the site. The area occupying the majority of the site is dedicated to a spa, gym, cafes, and entertainment venues, and opens onto a landscaped garden.
The tower form is the result of a number of independent studies, each exploring the potentials of organic clustering to solve the demands of high-rise residential living. In each proposal, a base module, or housing unit, is clustered similar to the packing of seeds around a central spine. The resulting tower form is in turn a sculpted surface, creating variation in the typical unit-type. This also allows for private and semi-private exterior terraces. A secondary skin, or enclosure, was proposed to make a formal connection between the base and the tower, and to serve as a layer of protection against natural elements.
The ZRL Levent project therefore effectively balances the multiple competing forces on the site, and resolves issues of climate, view, privacy and lifestyle in this proposal for a new mixed-use development in Istanbul, Turkey.