BUREAU DOUBLE TREE BY HILTON

Located on the outskirts of the industrial city of Kocaeli, the project site is within close proximity to the Marmara sea, Sapanca lake and the Kartepe mountains providing spectacular views. Being right next to the main highway connecting Istanbul and Kocaeli, the “Bureau Kartepe” mixed use development, with its easy access, presents itself as a great potential for development as an alternative to the central city life. The two L-shaped blocks with hotel and residence functions come together to form a central courtyard that is open to public. The courtyard is accessed through two urban gates that are located where the two L blocks meet with each other and the upper levels of the gates provide more private social zones for the whole complex. The courtyard and an introverted scheme is preferred due the adjacent undefined and underdeveloped urban conditions and a more defined social life is aimed within the courtyard by cafes restaurants and shops. The three partite facade aims at dealing with issues of density, scale and the repetitive nature of the project program with the extensive use of local brick as the main material choice. The more transparent and higher ground level provides room for retail commercial and social functions. The middle portion accepts the repetitive small residence and hotel room functions and aims at creating a pattern that would interrupt the individual small parts and at being perceived as a whole. The upper level of the complex creates another transparent layer in order to provide views towards the surrounding sea lake and the mountains. The geometry of this portion is also dynamic and is shaped in order to provide maximum daylight to the courtyard and to create bigger and more spacious residential zones with higher ceilings.