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TRAVELLER
overwhelming firestorm of gallery openings, upscale
emporia, trendy bars and eateries, and stylish hotels
popping up in gentrified neighbourhoods, such as
Beyoglu and Galata. This year will bring the first
Istanbul Design Biennial, organised by the Istanbul
Foundation for Culture and Arts, the same influential
nonprofit organisation behind the popular Istanbul
Biennial, a premier contemporary arts event, and the
annual Istanbul International Jazz and Film Festivals.
This renaissance has been fostered by Turkey’s
flourishing economy. With an annual growth rate
of some 7%, Turkey was the world’s fastest growing
market last year. This growth has also encouraged a
spate of investment. Real-estate investors and banks,
in particular, have been putting their money where
their mouths are – hoping to alter global perceptions
of the city by funding numerous contemporary art
museums and exhibitions. For instance, the Istanbul
Modern, the city’s first major venue for contemporary
art, owes its existence to the purse strings of one
of Istanbul’s wealthiest families. SALT, a five-floor
contemporary art complex funded by a major Turkish
bank, recently opened in a former 19th-century
Ottoman bank building in Galata. And, if a proposed
Frank Gehry-designed cultural centre ever sees the
light of day, it’ll be thanks to the distinguished Suna
and Inan Kiraç Foundation.
It’s precisely this successful collaboration between
public organisations and the private sector, artists
and designers that has paved the way for Istanbul’s
successful bid for 2010 European Capital of Culture
Clockwise from
left
,Autoban’s
Deco sofa and
multipurpose
steel Pumpkins;
theMushroom
family of tables
and stools;
Lamba light;
and their Box
sofa, which
harks back to
1950s
modernism
easyJet
flies to...
Istanbul from Basel-Mulhouse and London.
See our insider guide on page 136. Book online at
easyJet.com
and provided the environment that has allowed firms
like Autoban to flourish in the city.
Visitors to Istanbul today will find it peppered with
Autoban’s influence: in a renovated townhouse, the
sleek, 17-suite Witt Istanbul Hotel is fitted with their
Box sofas, Marmara marble bathrooms and Bose
iPod docks; Münferit, a trendy eatery, serves updated
mezes that complement the retro-chic décor of
mirrored walls, ceramic tiled floors and art deco
elements; the well heeled gravitate to Anjelique,
a bar-club-restaurant offering diners views of the
Bosphorus and dancing until dawn; and, making the
Condé Nast Traveller
Hot List 2011, the House
Hotel Nisantasi, a 45-room lux property, that sites in a
seriously upmarket neighbourhood above a Prada store.
And what of the future? Autoban will continue to
focus on international assignments. “We enjoy working
with different cultures,” says Özdemir. But they are
also looking to take on projects from the ground up,
providing creative input on both the architecture and
the interiors. Their first such undertaking – a towering
residence for young professionals – is currently
in development and is a perfect fit for Istanbul’s
high-density environment, offering petite rooms,
landscaped walkways and atrium-like public spaces.
And if this is a success, then the sky really will be the
limit for this progressive duo.
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