Now Bomonti
Environmental Strategy and Daylighting
The glazing strategy at Now Bomonti provides not only the best views but also allows for optimized amounts of natural light into the project’s living and working spaces. The surface of the glazing used is fritted, the degree to which is based upon the location and trajectory of the Istanbul sun. Together with the uses of mezzanines and terraces, which function in essence like the traditional courtyard, well-designed passive strategy to climate is taken.
Rising 30 floors, Now Bomonti is a mixed-used office/residential project in harmony with the environment and surrounding urban fabric. Innovative in both form and concept, it is a design from Tabanlıoğlu Architects, a leading architecture office in Turkey.
Context of Contemporary Istanbul
The Istanbul neighbourhood of Bomonti, in the Şişli region, is named after the first Ottoman beer production workshop, which was founded in the early 20th century by Swiss brothers Walter and Adolf Bomonti. Today, the neighbourhood is being regenerated in line with the cosmopolitan direction of modern Istanbul, attracting a socially and culturally active population of young people. The Bomonti neighbourhood offers peaceful tree-lined streets and green space with a wide variety of transportation options and efficient connections to greater Istanbul. The Now Bomonti project draws on this, bringing together both living and working uses into one innovative building concept.
Modular in concept, both office and residential units vary in floor area as well as ceiling height. This results in a range of flexible and adaptable floor spaces that can be tailored to specific needs. For the residential component, nine basic apartment types are available, ranging from studio size to family size. The office concept is equally flexible, allowing for one brand to occupy an entire floor for instance, or for a floor to be split up into individual units.
A further distinguishing feature from other developments in the area, and perhaps the most impressive, is the inclusion of balconies and private terraces, designed specifically for the level on which they are located and available to all apartments or units.
Urban Form
The architecture of Now Bomonti is created by stacking similar components on top of each other. The height for the ground floor responds to the surrounding topography and was taken from the French Old People’s Home, a senior’s residence and 19th century structure located directly adjacent to Now Bomonti. The next levels, designated for office use, relate to the height of surrounding buildings on the street and in the neighbourhood more widely. The top section, seen as the residential zone, is positioned to take in views of the city and the Bosphorus, taking in better and better views as the building rises in height.
An Aluminium Solution
Giving the importance of view and maximizing daylighting, the exterior of the project is nearly entirely composed of glazing. The expansive glazing system and fitting of the custom fritted panels was made possible by Reynaers Aluminium curtain wall systems. In particular, the CW 60 curtain wall system was used, together with the CP 155-LS sliding system, Hi-Finity sliding systems and CS 77 doors. Reynaers Aluminium worked in close collaboration with local fabricator Aksoy Aluminium throughout the process.
In total, 14,000 m² of glazed curtain wall was installed in this project. This includes curtain walling with only deep vertical caps as well as curtain walling without any caps. Furthermore, 76 lift & slide sliding doors with custom design were installed, along with a total of 900 m² glazed balustrades.
Philippe Dechery, Civil Engineer at Aksoy Aluminium notes that the above solutions are, in fact, quite standard. They are however enhanced thanks to the irregular and iconic shape of this progressive building concept.
Istanbul is a city famed for its historic mosques and old streets. At the same time, it has seen tremendous growth over the past decades, becoming a city that is both intensely traditional and modern. As growth continues into new areas of Istanbul, projects such as Now Bomonti are leading the way by presenting an innovative vision of living and working in harmony with the existing city fabric and the environment.
