Istanbul Modern by Renzo Piano Building Workshop, West Turkey gallery photos, New Turkish architecture
Istanbul Modern museum of art
Post updated 30 July 2024
Design: Renzo Piano Building Workshop – RPBW
Location: Karaköy waterfront, Istanbul, Western Türkiye
photograph : Cemal Emden
Istanbul Modern, Türkiye
Istanbul Modern, Türkiye’s first museum of modern and contemporary art, inaugurated its new museum building designed by RPBW, today with a press conference attended by architect Renzo Piano and Oya Eczacıbaşı, the Chair of the Board of the museum.
photo : Enrico Cano
Istanbul Modern opened its doors to the local community in the new building, situated at the museum’s original location on the Karaköy waterfront, one of Istanbul’s most historical districts where the Bosphorus and Golden Horn meet, on May 4, 2023.
photograph : Cemal Emden
The building – Renzo Piano’s first project in Türkiye – was inspired by the glittering waters of the Bosphorus, echoing the history of the site that has been used as a harbour for millennia, with a transparent ground floor offering views to the waterfront promenade and façade made from 3-D-formed aluminium panels that play with the changing sunlight.
photo : Enrico Cano
A one-of-a-kind viewing terrace at the top of the building hovers above a shallow reflection pool covering the roof, providing a 360-degree view of the Bosphorus and the city.
photo : Cemal Emden
Oya Eczacıbaşı, Chair of Istanbul Modern, said:
“Renzo Piano, a prominent figure in museum architecture today, became a partner to our dream of designing a museum building that would attract the attention of international art circles and reflect the architectural values of our unique city. We first met with Renzo in September 2014 at his office in Genoa. We were delighted and encouraged that he was as excited as we were about our dreams for the future of Istanbul Modern.”
photo : Cemal Emden
Highlighting the start of a new era for Istanbul Modern with the new museum building, Eczacıbaşı continued:
“Our responsibility to both the art world and our visitors has increased with this milestone. In the coming period, our priorities in this new building are to increase the production and visibility of women artists, expand the space and content of our art education programs for children and young people, and advance our efforts to introduce our country’s art to visitors from all over the world.”
Renzo Piano – Istanbul Modern:
photo : Enrico Cano
Renzo Piano, architect of the building, said:
“This museum building is like a creature of the sea, that has just jumped out from the water of the Bosphorus. We wanted to make a building to defy gravity and levitate above the ground, creating transparency with views towards the sea on one side and on the other the park and the medieval district of Galata.
photo : Cemal Emden
If you build a suspended space, where there is nothing obstructing the gaze, you get one of the strong elements of the project: the multiple planes. On the ground floor, the pillars give you a sense of depth, like tree trunks in a forest. And then going up you have the first, second, third, fourth floors, and to the south you have the plane of infinity, of light, while to the north you find the park and the city.
photo : Enrico Cano
photo : Enrico Cano
The gaze never ceases to superimpose one plane on another. This is what a city is composed of: the complexity, the sequence of buildings, streets and spaces that follow one another, creating a panorama of multiple planes.”
photo : Enrico Cano
photo : Enrico Cano
photo : Enrico Cano
photo : Enrico Cano
Previously on e-architect:
3 May 2023
Istanbul Modern Opens In New Landmark Building Designed By Renzo Piano On Thursday 4 May 2023
Istanbul Modern, Türkiye’s first museum of modern and contemporary art, will open to visitors in a new building designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop on Thursday May 4, 2023. The official opening ceremony of the museum will take place at a later date.
photograph : Cemal Emden
Istanbul Modern Building by Renzo Piano Architect
The landmark building is situated at the museum’s original location on the Karaköy waterfront, one of Istanbul’s most historic districts where the Bosphorus and Golden Horn meet.
Across 10,500 square meters, the new Istanbul Modern provides a purpose-built space for a dynamic range of temporary exhibitions, interdisciplinary educational programs, film screenings, and an extensive, publicly accessible art collection. Spanning the period from 1945 to the present, the collection features works by international artists who reflect Türkiye’s artistic creativity and have played an active role in the global transformation of art.
The design of the building, Renzo Piano’s first project in Türkiye, was inspired by the glittering waters of the Bosphorus and its reflections of light. Echoing the history of a site that has been used as a harbor for millennia, the outline of the building evokes ships of different sizes traveling back and forth between Europe and Asia as well as a creature of the sea that has leapt from the Bosphorus on the shore. The façade is made by a sequence of 3-D-formed aluminum panels that play with the changing sunlight, creating a shimmering, iridescent envelope evocative of fish scales.
Upon arrival, the transparent ground floor offers views to the waterfront promenade and houses the museum library, education and event spaces, digital touchscreens, a café, and a museum shop featuring new collections of objects inspired by the museum’s exhibitions. Richard Wentworth’s “False Ceiling” (2005), one of the iconic permanent installations from the former building, welcomes back visitors. A wide central stairway connecting the public areas of the museum features a three-part site-specific installation by Olafur Eliasson commissioned specifically for the new museum building by Istanbul Modern. Titled “Your unexpected journey” (2021), the installation appears to hang in the air, playing with light and the visitors’ sense of space.
The building’s first floor is home to the photography gallery, pop-up gallery, event spaces, education rooms, and staff offices. Istanbul Modern’s restaurant is also on this floor and offers spectacular views of the Bosphorus and Historical Peninsula from an outdoor terrace. The second floor houses the museum’s permanent collection gallery, which provides an unparalleled panorama of modern and contemporary art from Türkiye and beyond, as well as the main temporary exhibition gallery.
The museum also boasts a 156-seat auditorium for the museum’s celebrated film programs and interdisciplinary events. A one-of-a-kind viewing terrace at the top of the building hovers above a shallow reflection pool covering the entire roof, providing a 360-degree view of the Bosphorus and the city. The new building’s transparent and accessible design reflects the ethos of the museum: a multifaceted experience offering visitors audience-oriented exhibitions and programs inspired by the artistic diversity of the present day.
Istanbul Modern’s new building was constructed with the joint support of the Eczacıbaşı Group, the Museum’s Founding Sponsor, and Doğuş Group-Bilgili Holding, its Main Sponsor.
photograph : Cemal Emden
Opening Exhibitions of Istanbul Modern’s New Building
Istanbul Modern will reopen its doors with five new exhibitions, each accompanied by a publication and educational resources:
“Floating Islands”: Spread across the expanded permanent and temporary exhibition galleries as well as other spaces throughout the building,the exhibition constitutes Istanbul Modern’s most comprehensive collection exhibition to date, showcasing more than 280 works by 110 artists and 2 artist duos. Most of the works in the selection will be displayedfor the first time.
The exhibition’s first section in the permanent gallery focuses on art in Türkiye from 1945 to the 2000s following a chronological axis. Hosting the second section of the exhibition, the temporary exhibition gallery brings together thematic narratives from Türkiye and abroad.
Highlights from the collection exhibition include works by Türkiye’s foremost exponents of modern and contemporary art, such as Fahrelnissa Zeid, Sarkis, Ayşe Erkmen, Gülsün Karamustafa, Nil Yalter, and İnci Eviner, as well as by internationally renowned artists including Anselm Kiefer, Daniel Buren, Mark Bradford, Alicja Kwade, Haegue Yang, Laure Prouvost and others.
Floating Islands Exhibition by Renzo Piano Building Workshop – RPBW:
photograph : Meltem Sar
Visitors will also discover a newly commissioned installation by Refik Anadol. Titled “Infinity Room: Bosphorus”, the site-specific installation is informed by real-time environmental data from the Bosphorus.
“Always Here”: In line with the museum’s commitment to support and advocate for contemporary women artists from Türkiye, the exhibition brings together 17 works by 11 women artists that have been added to the collection through the support of the Women Artists Fund established in 2016.
“In Another Place”: The museum’s dedicated Photography Gallery, the first of its kind in Türkiye, will present 22 never-before-seen portraits taken by Palme d’Or-winning filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan in countries east of Türkiye.
Located at the entrance of the museum’s free-of-charge library, “Genius Loci” offers a survey of Renzo Piano‘s compelling architectural language and examines in detail the design process and structural components of Istanbul Modern’s new building by Renzo Piano Building Workshop.
“Constructing Architecture” brings together new works by architectural photographer Cemal Emden that unravel the museum building’s construction phases and reflect on the layered and long-running dialogue between architecture and photography.
The museum’s outdoor area plays host to major sculptures, including “The Most Beautiful of All Mothers (I)” by Adrian Villar Rojas, Richard Deacon’s “House Version”, Tony Cragg’s “Runner”, Anselm Reyle’s “Atop an Underworld” and “Dust Falling”, Yılmaz Zenger’s “Ayça, As I See Her”, and Selma Gürbüz’s “Europeans”.
photograph : Cemal Emden
About Istanbul Modern
Founded in 2004 as Türkiye’s first museum of modern and contemporary art, Istanbul Modern is committed to preserving and sharing Türkiye’s artistic heritage on a global scale while also bringing to Istanbul important works of art from diverse geographies. At the same time, the museum creates opportunities for audiences of all ages and walks of life to interact with modern and contemporary art and encourages people to wonder and think together.
With a vision to support the diversity and inclusiveness of artistic expression, Istanbul Modern researches, documents, collects, and exhibits works of art. Apart from increasing the public’s access to art through interdisciplinary exhibitions, educational programs, and cultural events, the museum contributes to the sustainability of the art ecosystem in Türkiye through its support of artistic production, international collaboration and other activities that support creativity. Internationally oriented programs that make use of new technologies strengthen the interaction between artists and audiences and emphasize art as a field of free expression and communication.
Floating Islands Exhibition by Renzo Piano Building Workshop:
photograph : Cemal Emden
Museum’s location:
Like its predecessor, the new building is on the European bank of Istanbul in Karaköy where the Bosphorus meets the Golden Horn. Its seaside façade overlooks the Bosphorus and the Historical Peninsula. For thousands of years, the Golden Horn area served as an inlet harbor of the Bosphorus, and this natural port united Istanbul with other centers of commerce and culture around the world.
On the landside of the museum is Galataport Istanbul’s Clock Tower Square. In addition to Istanbul Modern, the square is surrounded by such landmarks as the Tophane Clock Tower, Mimar Sinan’s Kılıç Ali Paşa Complex, the Tophane Fountain, Nusretiye Mosque, and Tophane Pavilion, as well as the Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University Museum of Painting and Sculpture.
About Renzo Piano and Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW):
Renzo Piano, the founder of the Renzo Piano Building Workshop, was born in Genoa, Italy, in 1937 and is known for the many art and cultural buildings he has designed. These include the Centre Pompidou, co-designed with Richard Rogers (Paris, France); The Menil Collection (Houston, USA); Fondation Beyeler (Basel, Switzerland); Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, USA); Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (Athens, Greece); Centro Botín (Santander, Spain); and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures (Los Angeles, USA). Renzo Piano has received numerous prizes from esteemed organizations and institutions, among them the 1998 Pritzker Prize, widely considered the most important award in the field of architecture.
The Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW) was established in 1981 with offices in Genoa and Paris and is today led by 12 partners, including founder architect Renzo Piano, and employs approximately 140 architects. RPBW produces work in diverse fields, including interior design, urban planning, landscape design, and exhibition design. While responding to the requirements of the building and its location in their designs, RPBW offers solutions that take into account not just the qualities of the spaces they design but also materials, sustainability, and the design of building elements.
Floating Islands Exhibition by architects Renzo Piano Building Workshop – RPBW:
photo : Cemal Emden
IIstanbul Modern by Renzo Piano in Turkey – Building Information
Credits:
Dates: 2016 – 2023
Location: Istanbul Modern, Istanbul, Türkiye
Client
Istanbul Museum of Modern Art
Design
Renzo Piano Building Workshop, architects
in collaboration with Arup (Istanbul)
Design Team
E.Baglietto, F.Giacobello (partner and associate in charge), R.Dunphy
with M.Cecchetto, E.Doyduk, M.Tokarnia, R.Wong and M.Yildirim; B.Pignatti, A.Pizzolato, C.Zaccaria (CGI); M.Abidos, F.Cappellini, D.Lange, F.Terranova (models)
Consultants
Arup (structure, MEP, lighting); R.Uysalkan (consulting interior architect), JML (water feature)
Photography: Cemal Emden
Istanbul Modern building by Renzo Piano architect images / information received 030523 from Renzo Piano Building Workshop Architects
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
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