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rggA Mimarlık

Altınel Hotel 8th Floor Competition Project 1st Proposal
Ankara / Türkiye, 2023

Altınel Hotel stands out as one of the pioneering modernist structures of its time with its raw concrete and golden anodized aluminum façade in Tandoğan Square, one of Ankara's prominent squares. Opened in 1984 as one of Turkey's first five-star hotels, the hotel had a swimming pool and sunbathing terrace on its rooftop. Over time, the area, which has been used for various functions and as a closed space on the 8th floor, has remained closed and idle for some time. In this context, the hotel management has decided to organize an invited architectural competition to elevate the spatial quality of the 8th floor by refunctionalizing it and revitalizing its symbolic value in historical context.

The competition aims to increase awareness of the hotel's urban and cultural values, provide a social environment for external guests, consider existing functions in neighboring hotels to develop quality spaces, and generate creative and original ideas that contribute to the hotel's internal structure and façade integrity. The hotel management has left the usage scenarios and functions open to the competitors.

In addition to the employer's requests, the following problems to be solved have been identified when considering the competition topic:

1- The café located on the ground floor of the hotel, despite its spacious garden and high-quality environment in the city center, is not sufficiently visible and known, although its potential to create brand value can be enhanced;

2- how to intervene in the modernist structure of recent times while preserving its great originality;

3- how to solve the vertical circulation load that may arise with the refunctionalization and activation of the 8th floor;

4- The visual pollution caused by the existing base station antenna and air conditioning external units on the roof.

 

Due to its central location, it is envisaged that correct intervention will enhance its visibility, the accessibility of the public function to be introduced, and the significance of its relationship with Anıtkabir and Tandoğan Square will contribute to revealing the potential of the structure.

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For the project, where the usage scenario and hence the need program are left to the competitor, a public park hosting different experiences throughout the day and a symbolic addition providing vertical circulation independent of the hotel and enabling access to the park have been proposed. The roof terrace ensures continuity of use without distinction between day and night, providing different experiences for users. During the day, the roof terrace provides a city park experience integrated with the urban environment, serving as a center for performing arts. At night, continuity of experience is ensured with light shows through digital arts and a club-bar concept.

The urban park, which is important in the open space design, is characterized by its qualities that allow users to integrate with the city and develop its social and cultural aspects. The cancellation of the dome that adds depth to the large meeting hall on the 7th floor was left to the competitor's decision. However, if canceled, it is integrated into the roof terrace design as part of the project. The dome serves as a surface for displaying digital arts thanks to the LEDs placed on it. The irregular heights of the platforms in the grid arrangement created around the dome strengthen the amphitheater formation for the performance arts developed around it. Parametric covers have been designed around to eliminate the visual pollution caused by the inactive antenna and external units and to create surfaces for digital arts. A viewing terrace has been positioned to strengthen the users' connection to Anıtkabir and to provide a panoramic effect. The park is supported by landscape elements at different heights.The sculpture integrated into the facade of the building provides independent access to the park organized on the roof and aims to create an object at the urban scale.

 

Our proposal has been shortlisted based on the jury evaluations. Following the notes of the jury evaluations, it has been requested to reconfigure the proposal to prepare a second proposal. The prepared second proposal project, "Altınel Hotel 8th Floor Competition Project 2nd Proposal " can be reviewed.

Project fact

 

Architectural design: R. Güneş Gökçek

Architectural office: rggA

Project team: Mehmet Özen , Osman Erdoğan

Employer: Altınel Hotel

Project date: 2023

Construction area: 1.250 m2

Static project: Adnan Tanfener

Model: Mehmet Özen

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