Zorlu Center

Orchestrating the brilliance of individuals, rethinking an urban space, and creating an oasis.

Istanbul is a vibrant cacophony of culture and history straddling Asia and Europe that is dissected by the deep blue water of the Bosphorus. Its streets and architecture are a storybook that stretches across centuries. What Istanbul is not is a purpose-built city, rather each era is absorbed and assimilated, creating a tangled metropolis of more than 15 million people. As technology and youth pull Türkiye into the future, business districts display a skyline that is rapidly changing not unlike London or New York.

In a city where east literally meets west, Zorlu provided a unique opportunity for the WATG team to orchestrate the brilliance of individuals to rethink an urban space and create an oasis in Istanbul unlike anything seen before. John Goldwyn comments that “The approach was to think in terms of creating something that would have an effect on the user that would change the way they feel about the city”. Conventional thinking proposes that landscape in the city equals steps and fountains, and what WATG ended up doing thankfully was the complete antithesis of this. The thrill for the team is that people tell them all the time when they’re in Türkiye or meeting them in other places, that Zorlu is one of the most incredible things they have ever seen, and it really is.

Integrating with nature

Located right in the middle of the European side of Istanbul, the surroundings are a complete urban expression of high-rise buildings and a large luxury hotel with hard interior landscaping. So the perimeter the team designed was specifically a totally different expression of landscape architecture. It ended up being a crazy, soft, highly programmed, and interactive environment. The idea was based on the concept of people coming to shop, stay or work in the area, so there was a need to create a captive audience situation that makes people want to stay and inhabit the retail and restaurant space. That is exactly what has happened, they do stay, and in the heat of summer, the water court encourages children to play. In Istanbul it really is the only thing of its type, there’s nothing else like it. It never ceases to surprise; where else could you see butterflies in the center of the city? Wildflowers and olive trees are a definite nod to keeping a relevant connection to Türkiye and its botanical origins.

Turning the corner in Istanbul and encountering Zorlu can and does change the way people can feel about their city. It’s a piece of urban space that has been saved for the people, and used by the people. The WATG team has created something that is not just functional, but inspires an emotional response and lifts the spirit. It’s a happy and wondrous place that brings families and children together in a revolutionary way.