Outstanding European Placemaking Projects: “Green, Modern, Mixed-Used — Zorlu In Istanbul Raises Shopping Center Standards To A New Level”

“Zorlu Center was my biggest surprise during our study tour to Istanbul in April this year. Istanbul has more than 120 shopping malls, but Zorlu Center is one of the outstanding ones. The center features a luxurious shopping center, a center for performance arts, a 5-star hotel, offices, and residences. However, it is not only designed as a mixed-use concept; it is absolutely tangible, as different areas merge and enrich each other. As such, it serves its community. It is centrally located at a transport hub with good public transport connections and forms a green lung.

The project aims to design Zorlu Center as an alternative urban space for Istanbul. The Zorlu Green Roofs filter dust and pollutants from the air and improve the microclimate. The Zorlu Center exhibits a stately 120,000 sq m of green area. Almost 60% of the total area (around 72,000 sq m) is located on roofs, most noticeably on the topography of the 45,000 sq m ample ring-formed green space, which rises from ground level up to 33 meters in height. A large main square of 10,000 sq m opens to the city and the Bosphorus in the middle.

Zorlu Shopping Mall is home to approximately 180 different stores. Apple introduced the iconic cube store concept, which is unique to New York, in its first store in Turkey. Beymen, located in an area of 9.600 sq m, introduces a brand new concept to the visitors of Zorlu Shopping Mall. Brooks Brothers, Industrie Denim, Cos, Lanvin, Pomellato, Stella McCartney, and Superdry are other brands that prefer Zorlu Shopping Mall as their first store in Turkey. Besides numerous luxury brands, it also hosts the largest H&M store in Turkey, on an area of 3.000 sq m.

The center creates a difference with its gourmet concept. International Restaurants Eataly, Jamie’s Italian, Tom’s Kitchen and Morini are introduced here to the Turkish market for the first time. Local restaurants such as Köşebaşı, Günaydın, Far East and Welldone designed brand new concepts for Zorlu Shopping Mall.

Moreover, Zorlu Shopping Mall offers an extraordinary movie experience to cinephiles with a total of 14 movie theaters opened by Cinemaximum with a capacity of 1.600, and two of them being VIP theaters. Zorlu Performing Arts Center is a giant masterpiece with a capacity of 3500 people. The new venue for performing arts and modern art welcomes world famous performance groups and artists on its stages. The center is home to various performing arts including Broadway and West End musicals, dance, Istanbul musical theater shows, pop, classical, opera and jazz music. Last but not least, the Raffles Istanbul hotel offers 132 guestrooms and 49 suites.”