ASELSAN KONYA

Aselsan Konya is a company that manufactures for the defence industry situated in Turkey.
The facility, which houses a wide range of uses such as production facilities, offices and social spaces, is located next to a major highway, the Konya-Ankara Road.
The design's primary focus is to provide a connection between the highway and the façade. This connection is made possible via a 16.85-meter-long steel arcade that acts as a link between the city and the building.
The steel arcade components' repetition provides a rhythmic and scaled interaction with Ankara road. The section determines the design of the steel arcade. There are two levels of circulation corridors that run down the façade and are connected to the main steel arcade columns by orange colored steel V-shaped structures. A V-shaped steel structure spanning two storeys supports the bottom steel circulation floor, while another V-shaped steel structure concealed below the reflecting dark grey glass façade supports the second floor. Thus, the glass corridor box hangs from the ceiling and detaches from the ground.
While the steel arcade structures affix themselves onto the building faces, they also exist as independent elements that continue in a linear path of 200 meters.
Aside their structural characteristics, the steel arcade elements also function as sun shading structures on the façade as they are vertical in direction.
In the plan configuration of Aselsan Konya, the production and the office spaces are detached with an inner garden and the connection is provided through the bridges.
This architectural approach has not only provided office workers with the opportunity to work together with natural light and greenery, but also brought a new breath to the typology of the production facility. The idea of integrating gren into an industrial building was also pursued in interior architecture with plants in different places with diverse functions. Green and pleasant meeting points are created by providing access to the entrance of the conference hall via an amphitheater with vertical garden walls.
The greenery and vertical garden systems that are created indoors help energy saving by providing thermal insulation, transforming water into water vapor and cooling the air, improving the air quality by increasing the oxygen content of the indoor environment, creating healthier environments by absorbing toxic substances in the air, and also sound and heat.
The felt material in the ceiling coverings that were chosen for the R&D offices is produced from recycled plastic water bottles and adds acoustic value to the project with its sound-absorbing feature.
The project is charged with not only being a functional space with regard to research and production, but must also represent the ingenuity and distinction of Aselsan Inc. With its unique design, the Aselsan Konya not only fulfills the client’s brief, but also presents a unique perspective in corporate architecture that is new to the city of Konya.