Istanbul buildings, Turkish architecture design

Istanbul Buildings Designs: Architecture

Key modern Architecture Developments in Turkey. Contemporary Turkish Built Environment designs.

post updated 5 November 2026

We choose key examples of Istanbul Buildings. We cover completed Istanbul buildings, and new building designs.

e-architect also feature architecture competitions across Turkey. The focus of the resource is on contemporary Istanbul buildings but information on traditional buildings is also welcome.

Istanbul Architecture Walking Tours by e-architect
Istanbul Architectural Walking Tours – city walks by e-architect for groups

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Famous Historic Istanbul Building

Hagia Sophia
532-37
Architects: Isidore of Miletus & Anthemius of Tralles
Hagia Sophia

Istanbul Architect

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Istanbul Architecture News

Istanbul Architectural News

24 August 2026
Istanbul Engineering Structures

photo : Haroon Ameer / Unsplash
Three days in Istanbul with four cameras. A Greek documentary reads the city not as a destination but as a sequence of engineering problems — and the solutions to them.

9 June 2026
Beymen Tersane luxury retail building design
Architecture: OMA

photo : Marco Cappelletti
Following decades of neglect, Tersane-i Âmire, Istanbul’s historic Ottoman Imperial Arsenal and the heart of the Empire’s naval production for more than four centuries, is undergoing a comprehensive transformation into a vibrant mixed-use waterfront destination. The redevelopment introduces a diverse programme of hotels, cultural venues, retail spaces, and public amenities, reactivating the site while preserving its historical significance.

26 March 2026
ORIGAMI A Sensory Bakery Experience, Tersane
Architecture: URBANJOBS

photo : İbrahim Özbunar – 645studio
URBANJOBS approaches space not merely as form, but as a holistic experience shaped by materiality, texture, and light, completed through user interaction. Centered on the careful construction of atmosphere through layered sensory qualities, this philosophy extends to every aspect of design—from door handles to bespoke furniture—forming the studio’s distinctive spatial language.

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Istanbul Architecture News in 2025

Key contemporary buildings in western Turkey. Modern Southeast Europe built environment designs updates.

Istanbul Architectural News + Key New Western Türkiye Property Designs, chronological:

27 September 2025
SANATORIUM Istanbul contemporary art gallery, Beyoğlu
Architecture: architect Nevzat Sayin

photo courtesy of SANATORIUM
ANATORIUM, one of Istanbul’s foremost contemporary art galleries, will open its third venue this autumn in the historic Bosphorus port district of Perşembe Pazarı. Since its establishment, the gallery has distinguished itself through a forward-thinking and critically engaged programme, fostering meaningful dialogue between Istanbul’s dynamic contemporary art community and the international art world. The new space builds upon this legacy, further strengthening SANATORIUM’s role as a platform for artistic exchange, experimentation, and cultural discourse.

23 September 2025
Quartz Plaza, Istanbul, Turkey office building design
Architecture: Salon Alper Derinbogaz

photo : Cemal Emden
Quartz Plaza is an office development located in Istanbul, a city whose urban fabric has been continually reshaped by intensive construction activity following the 1999 earthquake. Set within a context of ongoing transformation, the project seeks to engage with a more permanent dimension of the site by drawing inspiration from the city’s underlying geomorphology. Rather than responding solely to the transient character of its surroundings, Quartz Plaza establishes a dialogue with the enduring geological formations that have shaped Istanbul’s landscape over time, grounding the architecture within a deeper and more lasting context.

post updated 3 May 2025
Golden Horn Library Istanbul building design
Architecture: Aytac Architects

image : Alper Aytac
Alper Aytac’s design for the Golden Horn Library was recognised as a Jury Winner in the Institutional – Unbuilt category at the 2021 Architizer A+ Awards. Planned for the historic district of Galata in Istanbul, the project occupies a site deeply embedded within the city’s cultural and visual heritage. Positioned at a symbolic crossroads of Istanbul’s layered history, the library is envisioned as a contemporary civic landmark that celebrates knowledge, public engagement, and the enduring relationship between memory, place, and architecture.

23 April 2025
SU Residential Building, Erenköy
Design: Aytaç Architects

image : Aytac Architects
SU is a five-storey residential building located in the tranquil neighbourhood of Küçükyalı on the Asian side of Istanbul. Positioned between historic Bağdat Street and the shoreline of the Sea of Marmara, the project benefits from a rare and uninterrupted connection to the waterfront. With expansive, unobstructed sea views—an increasingly uncommon quality within Istanbul’s dense urban fabric—the building is carefully oriented to maximise its relationship with the surrounding landscape while providing a calm and refined residential environment.

1 January 2025
Zenel residential tower, Erenköy
Design: Aytaç Architects

photograph : Cemal Emden
Zenel is located in the prestigious neighbourhood of Erenköy on the Asian side of Istanbul. Occupying a 1,138-square-metre site, the development enjoys close proximity to the vibrant Bağdat Avenue, one of the city’s most celebrated urban corridors, which extends for approximately 14 kilometres along the coastline of the Sea of Marmara. Positioned within a well-established residential district, the project benefits from a dynamic urban setting while maintaining a strong connection to the character and lifestyle of Istanbul’s waterfront neighbourhoods.

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Istanbul Buildings News in 2024

Istanbul Architectural News in 2024

30 November 2024
Groove Heaven Shop, Fatih
Architects: Salon Alper Derinbogaz

photo : Salon
Groove Heaven is a space designed to recreate those elusive moments when we become wholly immersed in music, using the natural propagation of sound waves as its primary inspiration. The design concept explores how music can transcend its auditory boundaries, transforming into a spatial experience that visitors can engage with not just through hearing, but also through touch, sight, and movement.

28 November 2024
Kucukcekmece Djemevi, Küçükçekmece
Design: EAA-Emre Arolat

image : EAA-Emre Arolat
The Kucukcekmece Djemevi project was selected as the winner among the first-place winners of 14 different categories. This marks the first time a project from Turkey has received this prestigious award.

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Istanbul Buildings Designs

Modern Western Turkey Architecture Designs, alphabetical:

Aksemsettin Primary School, Küçükcekmece
Design: Uygur Architects

photo : Cemal Emden
Aksemsettin Primary School

Apple Bagdat Caddesi
Design: Foster + Partners Architects

photograph © Apple
Apple Bagdat Caddesi Istanbul Building

Arter Contemporary Art Museum
Architects: Grimshaw

photograph : Quintin Lake

Atatürk Cultural Center
Design: Tabanlioglu Architects

photos : Thomas Mayer, Cemal Emden, Engin Gerçek and EAA Emre Arolat
Atatürk Cultural Center

Bahçeköy House
Design: Habif Architects

photograph : Gürkan Akay
Bahçeköy House in Istanbul

Beyazit Public Library
Design: Tabanlioglu Architects

photograph : Emre Dorter
Beyazit Public Library in Istanbul

BJK No1903
Design: Elips Design & Architecture

picture courtesy of architecture office
BJK Football Club Building

Borusan Music & Art House
Design: GAD
Borusan Music & Art House
The Borusan Music & Art House is a contemporary urban renovation project located on a pedestrian street in the historic Beyoğlu district of Istanbul Istiklal Caddesi. The area is characterized by late Ottoman era structures from the 19th & 20th centuries.

DDB Office
Design: Erginoglu & Calislar
DDB Office Istanbul : Best New & Old Building – World Architecture Festival Awards 2010
An extensive restoration and revitalization project was undertaken to allow the advertising agency group ‘Medina Turgul DDB’ to move into a salt repository they had rented. This 170 year old building had formerly been owned by TEKEL (Turkish State Liquor and Tobacco Monopoly) and is located in the run-down, once industrial district of Kasmpaa.

Demirci Restaurant
Design: Caglayan Architects

photography : Emre Onemci
Demirci Restaurant

Disaster Prevention Education Center
Architect: Design Initiatives
Disaster Prevention Education Center
This architectural proposal links together the two main areas of Prevention-Education and After-effect response-rescue (the shelter). In the Prevention-Education area the visitors first shall watch, observe, scrutinize the phenomena in the Planetarium, 4D Video room and the Exhibition area grouped around the Lobby and then personally participate, experience, test the phenomena in the Simulation wing of the building.

Dr. Oktay Duran High School
Dr. Oktay Duran High School

Garanti BBVA Bank Technology Campus
Design: ERA Architects

photography : Cemal Emden
Garanti BBVA Bank Technology Campus in Istanbul

Halic Shipyards, Golden Horn
Design: Tabanlioğlu Architects

picture courtesy of architecture office
Halic Shipyards Istanbul Building

International Terminal at Istanbul New Airport, Western Turkey
Design: Scott Brownrigg, Grimshaw, Nordic Office of Architecture and Haptic Architects

image from Scott Brownrigg
New Istanbul Airport Terminal

Intertech R&D Building, Istanbul Technopark Campus
Design: ERA Architects

photograph : Omer Kanipak
Intertech R&D Building in Istanbul

Istanbul Apartments
Design: Swanke Hayden Connell Architects
Istanbul Apartments
The architects unveils their design for a 92 unit apartment building in a residential suburb of central Istanbul. SHCA’s offices in London and Istanbul are collaborating on the design development and construction phases of this exciting scheme located in the up and coming area of Bomonti.

Istanbul Airport Building

image Courtesy architecture office
New Istanbul Airport Building Design

Istanbul Modern
Design: Renzo Piano Building Workshop – RPBW

photo : Cemal Emden
Istanbul Modern building by Renzo Piano

Istanbul New Airport ATC Tower
Design: Aecom with Pininfarina

image Courtesy architecture office
Istanbul Airport New Traffic Control Tower

Istanbul Painting and Sculpture Museum, Karaköy Harbor, Istanbul, Western Turkey
Design: EAA Emre Arolat

photos : Thomas Mayer, Cemal Emden, Engin Gerçek and EAA Emre Arolat
Istanbul Painting and Sculpture Museum

Istanbul VAKKO Offices, Bagdat Avenue
Design: HQ Architects

render : HQ Architects
Istanbul VAKKO Offices by HQ Architects

Kanyon, Levent
Design: The Jerde Partnership with Tabanlioglu Architects
Kanyon Istanbul
Major Turkish architecture development : 2.74 m sqft of modern offices, luxury residences with local and upscale retailers in an organic, open-air design that includes an amphitheater, plazas & rooftop park spaces

Koc University Medical Sciences Campus, Topkapi district
Architects: Kreatif Mimarlik + Cannon Design

picture courtesy of architecture office
Koc University Medical Sciences Campus in Istanbul

Levent Loft
Design: Tabanlioglu Architects
Levent Loft Istanbul
The existing construction primarily started as an office building; the building is re-designed as a residence within the Loft concept. The existing wall separating the building from the two adjacent factories is furbished as a “green wall creating a natural finish.

LOFT Gardens
Design: Tabanlioglu Architects
LOFT Gardens Istanbul
Following the success of first Levent Loft, a transformation project on Maslak-Levent axis, Loft Gardens is designed in the concept of “soft loft”. The 21-storey mid-rise transparent residence block comprised of loft apartments at various size and forms; nature friendly with its vertical gardens designed as private walkout terraces, balconies, garden patios.

Maslak
Design: HPP Architekten

photo : Cemal Emden
Maslak Square, Istanbul Building

Masterplan for Istanbul’s Parkorman
Design: Dror, Architects

image Courtesy architecture office
Parkorman Masterplan Istanbul by Dror

Metro Ofis Building, Pendik
Design: BFTA Mimarlik, architects

photograph : Gürkan Akay
Metro Ofis Building Istanbul

Positive Energized Office
Architects: nord architecture design

photograph : Murat Tekin
Positive Energized Office in Istanbul

Real Merter
Design: Tago Architects

image Courtesy architecture office
Real Merter in Istanbul

Regnum Tower
Park Associati
Regnum Tower : Turkish Architecture Competition – Jun 2008 : 2nd place
This skyscraper building is to be a new landmark for the eastern side of Istanbul. The 145m high building consists of 36 floors, 9 of which are allocated for offices and the remainder for residential.

Sakip Sabanci Museum Concert Hall
Nevzat Sayin, NSMH
SSM Concert Hall Istanbul
The Bosphorus in Istanbul, which expresses most sharply the divide between Asia and Europe, is one of the places that must be preserved unchanged with the boats both large and small that go through it and the fabric that surrounds it. In fact, its surroundings should be slightly weeded out, thinned down, cleaned up.

The Sales Office Yedi Mavi, Zeytinburnu
Architects: RSG Interior Design

image Courtesy architecture office
Yedi Mavi Sales Office, Zeytinburnu

Sanko HQ
Architecture: RMJM Milano

picture from architecture office
Sanko HQ Istanbul

Santral Istanbul Contemporary Art Museum, Istanbul
EAA-Emre Arolat Architects / Nevzat Sayn (NSMH)
Santral Istanbul Contemporary Art Museum
The first power plant of the Ottoman Empire was built at the point where the Golden Horn ends. Its construction began in 1910 and the plant was in operation until 1984.

Sapphire – Levent Tower, central Istanbul
Tabanlioglu Architects
Istanbul Sapphire – 261m high, building for Biskon Construction
Turkish skyscraper architecture. Facilities: restaurants; cinemas; stores; residential
mini golf course at 187m high, swimming pool at 60m high.

Şişli City Hall
Design: Boran Ekinci Architects

photography : Cemal Emden
Şişli City Hall Building

Spa & Indoor Pool for Besiktas Football Players, Beşiktaş Esports – Çekmeköy
Architects: Elips Design Architecture

picture courtesy of architecture office
BJK Nevzat Demir Facility Istanbul: Spa & Pool

Swiss Consulate
Tuncer Cakmakli Architects
Swiss Consulate Turkey
All of the areas are designed in an integrity from the entrance point. Surfaces are designed for places by researching details and handcrafts. Beside that cultural heritage of Swiss-relation between its nature and Turkey, reflected in the materials used in the design.

Validebag Konaklari Sales Office
Architects: Studio Vertebra

image Courtesy architecture office
Validebag Konaklari Sales Office

Varyap Shopping Living Center, Ataşehir
EAA-Emre Arolat Architects
Varyap Shopping Living Center
With the architectural design the integration of the building with the urban environment has been aimed and breaking the paries, allowing the pedestrian circulation to continue inside and the middle of the building, evenmore on the green cover designed as an inclined platform, placing a part of nature, an interior landscape in the center, even if it is also man-made, instead of a stimulative fiction have been proposed.

Watergarden Project
Design: GVDS – Gorkem Volkan Design Studio, Architects

image Courtesy architecture office
Watergarden Project in Atasehir District of Istanbul

Yesil Vadi Mosque
Adnan Kazmaoglu MAM ARC
Yesil Vadi Mosque Building
The unity of existence as a single entity constitutes the essence of Islamic thinking. Existence only changes form; everything in the universe is the reflection of it.

Zorlu Center
EAA-Emre Arolat & Tabanlioglu Architects
Zorlu Center
The Zorlu Center site is just at the junction of the Bosphorus Bridge European connection and the glamorous Büyükdere axis that connects the city center with the great business district Maslak. It is reached from various important centers of Istanbul and moreover, topographically is one of the few plain sites that face south, with the old city view.

Zorlu Levent Office Tower
Tabanlioglu Architects
Istanbul Office Tower

More Turkish Architecture Developments projects online soon

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