Timeless Rhythm

Istanbul’s Bosphorus, the world famous waterway separating Europe and Asia, is home to some of the city’s most dramatic specimen of residential architecture dating back to the Ottoman period. Traditionally built from wood, the homes directly on the Bosphorus, called "yali", are characterized by their regular geometry, horizontality and formal character. KM, together with Italian architect Carlo Chambry under Cibic&Partners, redesigned this 1960’s concrete structure to reflect the traditional yali form, while bearing in mind the current needs of a large family. Retaining only the basic structure of the original building, KM’s scheme produced a new layout and in parallel, facade treatment augmented by the creation of a courtyard and a service building at street level. At the heart of the arrangement of the house, the layout is structured around the repetition of 3 x 2 x 3 bays that establishes a pattern that is repeated harmoniously throughout the plan. These bays are brought into the program to produce the arrangement of rooms allowing the penetration of light deep into the interior. Outdoor spaces are coordinated with the interior arrangement as living areas extended from the activities of the house, bringing harmony into the whole plan. KM design subtly plays off the historic type of the yali but now adapted to a modern vision.