AileFest 2026

AileFest 2026 was a temporary architectural and spatial design project held from 26 September to 6 October 2026 at the historic Rami Library in Istanbul. Covering 91,000 m², the festival transformed the library's courtyard and interior spaces into an environment for play, interaction and shared family experiences. Over its eleven days it welcomed approximately 825,000 visitors and brought together people of different generations through a diverse programme of cultural, educational and recreational activities.

The design is built around a child-oriented approach. Play areas were tailored to different age groups, taking into account children's ergonomic needs and their patterns of interaction with space and with one another. Rather than prescribing fixed uses, the project adopts a semi-structured design language: forms, volumes and open settings suggest possibilities without dictating them, leaving room for imagination, exploration and spontaneous play. Colour, spatial composition and visual storytelling work together to evoke shared memories of family life, while also creating opportunities for new collective experiences between children, parents and grandparents.

The historic setting of the Rami Library provided the stage for the project. Against the existing architecture, the courtyard became a landscape of colourful, playful structures and gathering places, and the festival's programme unfolded across the open air and the interior spaces alike, so that visitors could move freely between the two.

As an integral part of the festival, the Book Fair reinterprets the conventional exhibition layout through a playful architectural language. Colourful geometric display units, house-shaped structures and a dynamic floor composition transform the historic interior into an engaging environment for discovering books. Rather than a conventional sequence of stands, the layout invites visitors to wander, pause and browse, creating a cohesive spatial identity that encourages exploration and interaction across different age groups.

Together, the outdoor play landscape and the Book Fair interior form a single, coherent spatial experience. AileFest 2026 shows how a temporary design intervention can give a historic cultural site a new, family-oriented life, bringing reading, play and togetherness to a very wide audience over the course of the festival.

Project area: 91,000 m²
Location: Rami Library, Istanbul, Türkiye
Event dates: 26 September – 6 October 2026
Visitors: approximately 825,000
Programme: temporary family festival with play landscape and Book Fair interior