Three major green wings will take visitors inside directly to let them experience a new public park and cultural hub in Hatay, Turkey, by proposing an endless green space atop the roof. 

Designed by Turkish architecture practice ONZ Architects, the architects will transform the 1950's Antakya Atatürk Stadium into a new public space with its mixed-use program. 

Named Green Wings, the new cultural hub will include a cultural center, museum & art center, a library, cafes, restaurants, an open plaza for open air activities, and an underground car park.

Built in 1950 and accommodating a current capacity of 6150 people, Antakya Atatürk Stadium was closed due to the failure of meeting the current needs and a new stadium was planned to be built in the city periphery. 

To meet the necessities of the city, the architects created a fluid and dynamic cultural hub to respond to growing demand for an urban hub with an iconic design that will strengthen coexistence and tolerance in a multicultural environment.

Explaining the historic presence of the stadium, the architects said: "In line with the development of the city over the years, it is aimed to transform the old stadium as a city park due to the intense construction around it."

Open Air Theatre 

"Considering the importance of the stadiums for the representation of the city's collective identity, this transformation is seen as a very sensitive issue for Hatay, a multicultural city dating back to hundreds of thousand BC. Therefore, for the city, this stadium is not only a symbol of national pride and cultural ideology, but also an object of the recent history of the city." 

"The desire for preserving social history created a demand for a design with similar ambitions in the place of this stadium, which acted as an interaction center and a meeting point for the city. For this reason, this structure is more than just a stadium for the city residents, but a place where the remains of past cultural practices are vital for the common memories and identities of societies," added the architects. 

Green Square

ONZ Architects' design scheme aims to preserve the collective memory and to unveil the cultural potential of the city for this very specific site, which has historical and cultural importance for the city.

With the "Green Wings", the design is aimed to increase the cultural activities in the city and to strengthen the connection between the city and its users.

Green Square

"The main goal of the design can be summarized as to leave the whole area green and to isolate this green park from the dense built environment within an introverted framework," said the architects in a project description. 

"A cultural center, museum & exhibition center and a library are located at each corner of the triangular site where the main square is located at the center. These functions are placed under the “Green Wings” that is created without reducing the surface of the green area."

Green Square

Green Wings will be built by curling up the surfaces in three corners of the site, wrap the green park while isolating the visitors from the city’s dense built environment. By doing so, visitors will be able to stay totally alone with the nature. Created a land-form through its undulated surfaces, the new cultural hub will also allow different open air activities through the park. 

At the three corners of the project site, which is located at the intersection of the city’s circulation axes, smaller urban squares are designed and these squares are connected with pedestrian and bicycle paths. 

"In the green area formed by shaping the earth, the visitors feel completely alone with the nature, while the urban squares that are designed around the functions positioned through the perimeter of the site are aimed to enrich the urban life and become a vital part of the main circulation scheme of the city," explained the architects.

Site plan

With this huge green space atop the roof, ONZ Architects will implement various sustainable criterias measuring for improved lighting, ventilation, heating, visual comfort and indoor air quality to ensure user satisfaction and efficacy. 

Maximizing the green surface is one of the key design principles of the studio. The area is completely left to green and all functions are located under the green shell called "Green Wings" formed by shaping the land-form.

Axonometric view

Since the surface area of the roof structure is quite large, architects will solve the climate conditions in under-spaces by natural ventilation. The green roof structure will also balance the temperature inside by using passive cooling and natural ventilation. 

Considering the region's hot climate, the green roof provides thermal insulation, which plays an important role in reducing indoor temperatures. The green roofs, which reduce the heat island effect, keep the roof cool under the sun. Natural ventilation is provided with cross ventilation for all the spaces in the site like cultural center, museum, art center and the library.

Plan scheme

"Since Hatay is a place rich in solar energy, solar panels were designed to be installed in the area to cover a significant part of the energy need," added the architects.

The architects will use roof panels that will be mounted on the roofs of commercial buildings located on the square as well as the green platform.

Elevation

Elevation

Design scheme

ONZ Architects won the WA Award in the 21st Cycle with Eco-Park Green Building Showcase & Enterprise Hub. 

Project facts

Location: Hatay / Turkey

Project Year: 2019

Design Team: Onat Öktem - Zeynep Öktem 

Project Team: İpek Erol – Figen Yücel – Esat Can Meker - Okan Mutlu Okpınar – Hüseyin Kezer - Besmir Kamberi

All images and video © ONZ Architects

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