WAF 2015 winner Kerem Yazgan, guest speaker at INGLASS Warsaw

About the speaker

Kerem Yazgan was born in Ankara in 1969.He obtained his B. Arch degree from the Middle East Technical University Department of Architecture in 1993. He worked in a diversity of architectural offices and participated in various architectural design competitions until 1996. He opened his first architectural office in 1996, after being awarded the first prize in a national architectural design competition.

He received his M. Arch degree from the METU Department of Architecture in 1997. His masters dissertation received the “Parlar Foundation Academic Award” of METU in 1998. He received awards in various architectural design competitions. Alongside opening an office, Kerem Yazgan attended the Fourth Year Architectural Design Studio in the METU Department of Architecture as a part-time instructor from 1997 to 2007.

Kerem Yazgan opened his second architectural office with his wife Begüm Yazgan, PhD Architect in 2003, the same year in which he received his PhD degree from METU Department of Architecture. His doctoral dissertation entitled “Designography in Architecture” is about his research on the ‘systems and acts’ in architectural design. His design approach is based on the direct association of theory and practice and the systematization of the design process.

He has realized a diverse number of architectural projects with the idea that he defines as “the design of the design act”, which is based on ‘writing the program’ of architectural design. In his practice, he continues to search and develop flexible, free, systematic and lucid relationships between architectural design approaches that clearly define the conceptual, production, and construction phases.

About the project

Artfully placed in square metres 45,000 of manicured landscape, ONS İNCEK is a luxury residential project consisting of three colourful towers containing 992 residences. Signaling the entrance of the residential complex, the multi-leveled showroom displaying the mock-up apartments, is designed with its contours sitting parallel to the inclined topography. Located under the central atrium, the large model of the residential complex is at the focal point of the showroom.

With varying modes of circulation, including ramps, stairs and elevators, the visitors are able to move with ease throughout the free space interior. The private offices are located on the top floor, while the residential complex models and sales associates are located at the ground level. At the basement level, the three fully furnished mock-ups of the apartments are displayed.

The interior of the showroom is enveloped with a numerous amount of repetitive vertical coloured glass panels. With its multi-leveled, exposed concrete structure, the showroom is predominantly a medium grey colour. This creates a unified background for the colour of the glass panels to be more accentuated and visible from a distance. Colour is also of great importance to the overall design intent of the project as a whole. Each tower façade is also wrapped with glass panels. The colours of the glass panels are the same colours used in the towers, visually connecting the showroom to the residential complex.

The three primary colours used were a turquoise blue, a warm green and deep yellow. A gradient of these colours was then created to move the eye move along the contours of the building. As the coloured glass moves around the façade, the gradient moves from cool colours to warm colours and back to cool colours as the building form moves upward with the topography. The longest panels are ten meters in length, warm in colour, and signify the dramatic dip in topography. The shortest panels are cool coloured and help to signal the entrance to the building.

With the variety of colours and lengths of the glass panels, colour becomes a performance element, creating visual movement around the building. This movement is not only created by the colour and size of the glass panels, but the shadows that are cast. The mat coloured glass panels can also be used as a signaling element. While the coloured panels are muted when is shadow, they are much brighter in colour when exposed to the sun. The shadows that the panels cast within the space also signal the passage of time and the orientation of the sun.

The landscape is designed as layered ripples that descend while following the natural topography, as if originating from the central amenities complex. The design creates a large number of individual gardens containing a wide variety of plants indigenous to Ankara, Turkey.

Awards of the office

• 2015 ONS Incek Residences Showroom & Sales Office – World Architecture Festival 2015 – Colour Prize Winner



• 2015 Konya Food & Agriculture University – World Architecture Festival 2015 – Finalist



• 2015 ONS Incek Residences Showroom & Sales Office – World Architecture Festival 2015 – Finalist



• 2015 Aselsan (REHİS) Gölbaşı Campus – World Architecture Festival (WAF) 2015 – Finalist



• 2015 Volkswagen Arena – INSIDE World Festival of Interiors Awards 2015 – Finalist



• 2015 Volkswagen Arena – Arkitera Architecture Yearbook Project 2014



• 2015 Aselsan (REHİS) Gölbaşı Campus – Arkitera Architecture Yearbook Project 2014



• 2015 ONS Incek Residences Showroom & Sales Office – World Architecture Community – 18th Cycle Selected Project



• 2015 Tema Istanbul Showroom – European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture Mies van der Rohe Award – Nominee



• 2014 ONS Incek Residences – World Architecture Festival 2014 – Finalist



• 2014 ONS Incek Residences – European Property Award 2014, Residential Highrise – Highly Commended



• 2014 Tema Istanbul Showroom Landscape – European Property Awards 2014, Commercial Landscape – Highly Commended



• 2014 Tema Istanbul Showroom – WAN Metal in Architecture Awards – long list

Awards of the speaker

• 2002 50th Year Park and War Memorial Complex – National Project Competition – 5th Honorable Mention



• 2002 Ankara Swan Park – National Architectural Project Competition – 3rd Honorable Mention



• 2001 Çatalhöyük Excavation Site Shelter – Invited Architectural Project Competition – 1st Prize



• 2000 Tepe Architecture Culture Center Young Turkish Architect Award



• 1999 Dalaman International Airport – Invited Competition – 7th Prize



• 2015 World Architecture Festival – Colour Prize Winner