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do[x]architecture softens robust industrial look of climate museum with colorful boards and lights
Turkey Architecture News - Aug 24, 2023 - 15:47 1702 views
Robust industrial interiors have been softened with colorful informative boards and bespoke lights for a climate museum designed by Istanbul-based architecture practice do[x]architecture.
Named Museum Gazhane – Climate Museum, the 1,030-square-metre complex, located in Hasanpaşa, Kadıköy - a residential neighborhood on Istanbul’s Asian shore in Istanbul, Turkey, was converted from a former gasworks factory - known as Hasanpaşa Gazhane which was built in 1892 to meet the energy needs of the Anatolian Side.
Climate Museum I building
Since the factory could not meet the current needs and the use of natural gas became widespread, the factory complex was abandoned in 1993.
After 130 years, in 2021, the factory was decided to be repurposed as a public space under the name of Museum Gazhane.
do[x]architecture, led by Dicle B. Özdemir ve Kadir Uyanık, was appointed to convert the interior spaces of the two former factory buildings, which were used as gas purification facilities, into a permanent exhibition and museum.
The studio was responsible for the design of the scenography, the museum and the exhibition of the buildings.
Interior view of Climate Museum I building
The program of the climate museum is scattered within the two buildings of the Museum Gazhane complex: Climate Museum I and Climate Museum 2.
The Museum Gazhane - Climate Museum was officially opened to the public in April this year.
Aiming to tackle with climate change, the theme of the museum was set as “Climate Crisis”, focusing on the urgent needs of climate crisis and its impacts.
Interior view of Climate Museum I building
While the studio pays homage to the raw industrial character of the buildings, the interior designs are enriched with colorful informative boards, suspended on continuous metal tube profiles, with its bespoke lighting as well as interactive objects "to make the museum experience more accessible and inclusive."
The colorful lightings in the interiors make the industrial form of the building more prominent and inviting.
Interior view of Climate Museum I building
"In the museum buildings of Hasanpaşa Gazhane, the gasworks producing energy from fossil fuel (coal), is the Climate Museum, which explores the climate crisis, natural and man-made causes of the crisis alongside its devastating consequences," said do[x]architecture.
"Spreading over two buildings in total, the exhibition focuses on the rapidly-increasing use of fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) with the industrial revolution and the place of Gazhane, which is a factory structure, in this process and creates a basis for its own criticism."
Interior view of Climate Museum I building
According to the studio, "with the transformative potential for climate awareness and advocacy, the museum invites visitors to explore the realities of climate crisis and help to confront them with the devastating consequences of the climate crisis."
Visitors are welcomed by informative visuals and interactive spaces with maps, screens, texts situated within the existing machines and concrete machine plinths, which became the remains of the old facilities.
Interior view of Climate Museum I building
"In the exhibition, visitors can experience the climate crisis and access real-time data/information through interactive exhibits that simulate the impacts of climate crisis such as rising sea levels, extreme weather events, melting glaciers and fire disasters," the studio added.
"Photos reflecting the impacts of climate change, video projections, documentaries and interviews with climate scientists offer visitors a powerful experience about climate change," it continued.
Interior view of Climate Museum I building
The museum was situated in a strategic location so that the museum can be linked with the workshop and activity areas in the Museum Gazhane's functional scheme.
Interior view of Climate Museum I building
"Through these spaces, the Museum enables visitors to meet with researchers and activists, emphasizes the importance of community participation and cooperation in tackling the climate crisis, enables the development of implementable strategies, and encourages dialogue," the studio explained.
"In addition to the vertical kiln buildings of Gazhane, the gas purification buildings, which were built in similar periods, are machine buildings where large machines, pipes and filters are located in which the gas produced from coal is purified from chemicals and particles.
"Both buildings have existing machines and concrete machine plinths," it continued.
Interior view of Climate Museum I building
In the exhibition, the studio aimed to intervene in the existing buildings as minimum as possible, by preserving the machines inside the structures and the pedestals.
Adopting a flexible approach, the studio designed a flexible structural system that can be assembled and disassembled depending on the future program of exhibitions and different scenarios.
It features a system of metal tubes that carry the informative boards circulates throughout the building, while lightening the weight of the industrial structure.
Interior view of Climate Museum II building
The translucent and semi-matt white tubular structures, which create a contrast in the space, act like an art object.
Vertical screens placed between brutalist walls touch on another issue related to the climate crisis and become a natural part of the building.
Interior view of Climate Museum I building
"In order to adapt to the changing and up-to-date conditions on the climate crisis, a system was developed that allows the information boards to be suspended and to be easily separated from the structure," the studio continued.
"In this way, even if the data has to be updated annually, the waste material was aimed to be minimized."
Interior view of Climate Museum I building
The studio believed that in industrial buildings, the control of natural light was difficult, and each exhibition space required to create its own lighting solution.
Materials used in the interiors are metal tube profiles - providing continuity for the exhibition structure, and medium-density fibreboards (MDF) for information boards.
Interior view of Climate Museum I building
The studio preferred reflective surfaces on the floors and different materials and colors on the walls to complement the industrial character of the building.
Implementing different materials was aimed to help the exhibition space being separated from the existing industrial space and could easily be perceptible.
Interior view of Climate Museum I building
Interior view of Climate Museum I building
Climate Museum II building
Interior view of Climate Museum II building
Interior view of Climate Museum II building
Interior view of Climate Museum II building
Interior view of Climate Museum II building
Interior view of Climate Museum II building
Interior view of Climate Museum II building
Interior view of Climate Museum II building
Interior view of Climate Museum II building
Interior view of Climate Museum II building
Interior view of Climate Museum II building
Interior view of Climate Museum II building
Interior view of Climate Museum II building
Interior view of Climate Museum II building
Interior view of Climate Museum II building
Functions diagram
Climate Museum I axonometric drawing
Climate Museum I - entrance hall
Climate Museum I - hall 1&2
Climate Museum I - hall 1&2 - circulation
Climate Museum I - Plan
Climate Museum II axonometric drawing
Climate Museum II - hall 3&4&5
Climate Museum II - hall 6
Climate Museum II - hall 7
Climate Museum II - plan
Based in Istanbul, do[x]architecture was established in 2016 by Dicle B. Özdemir and Kadir Uyanık.
The practice serves in the field of architecture and design, aiming to produce effective designs based on both human needs and environmental awareness.
Project facts
Project name: Museum Gazhane – Climate Museum
Project location: Hasanpaşa - Kadıköy – Istanbul, Turkey
Interior design: do[x]architecture
Design team: Dicle B. Özdemir, Kadir Uyanık
Project team: Tuncay Güner, Damla Çolakoğlu
Client: Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality & Gürsoy Grup Restorasyon
Contractor: Gürsoy Grup Restorasyon
Subcontractor: Karınca Reklam, The Mob
Furniture design: do[x]architecture
Exhibition content: Prof. Dr. Levent Kurnaz, Dr. Ümit Şahin
Graphic design: Pompaa İstanbul
Audio-visual project production: Map Global
Project start date: 2019
Project completion date: 2021
Construction start date: 2020
Construction completion date: 2023
Construction area: 1,030m2
All images © Alp Eren - Altkat Architectural Photography.
All drawings © do[x]architecture.
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