Hi Architecture+Design Community,
I would like to share with you one of the best vernacular and wooden design I visited past year! It's fairly new and a mesmerizing building inside and outside!
Following the opening event held in Eskişehir, Turkey on September 7 2019, the museum started to meet with its visitors as of 13.00 on September 8th. Erol Tabanca, Kengo Kuma and Yuki Ikeguchi, who attended the well-attended press conference held on the morning of September 8, answered the questions put to them about the museum.
Kengo Kuma said that although Istanbul is a city made up of concrete and tiles, Eskişehir has a softer texture and that he felt very warm from his first visit and that he found similarities with Japan.
He stated that they wanted an airy building while constructing the wooden building system that refers to the historical texture of Odunpazarı. Indicating that he cares about connecting with the surrounding buildings and streets, Kuma said that he enjoyed "seeing how and with what material the building was made", when asked whether he was protecting the old and peeled building very close to the building.
Ikeguchi: “A Living Building”
Yuki Ikeguchi, one of the architects of the museum, said that they care about the use of each part of the museum, responding to different functions and being open to dialogue, and that they have succeeded at this point. He stated that they achieved the desired effect in the use of light and its penetration in the atrium in the center of the museum. He said that the light penetrating through the atrium will change depending on the season and the difference between day and night, making the museum a "living building".
Polimeks Holding Chairman of the Board, Erol Tabanca, stated that after the idea of the museum was formed, they asked what the best idea was, after meeting with Kengo Kuma, that they thought it would make a different contribution to the project. Adding to his words that not every star architect project creates a "Bilbao Effect", Tabanca further stated that he received comments about the museum as "An Eskişehir, not Turkey, but a World project".
About the Museum
OMM – ODUNPAZARI MODERN MUSEUM is a contemporary art space of 4,500 m2 designed by Kengo Kuma and Associates (KKAA) with references from the Odunpazarı civil architecture, Ottoman dome architecture and traditional Japanese architecture. In addition to exhibition areas of different sizes, there are cafe, museum shop and workshop areas in the building.
It is envisaged that the museum building, which will give life to the district at night as well as during the day with its wooden structure system and impressive architecture, which refers to the historical texture of Odunpazari, will be the focal point and symbol of this region, as well as a public gathering center.
Aiming to provide an inspiring museum experience with the exhibition spread over three floors by letting the daylight in and the common areas open to visitors, OMM also aims to take art lovers on an architectural journey with its design that narrows towards the upper floors, while reflecting the historical texture of the region with its wide ground floor.
About the Museum Collection and Exhibited Artifacts
In addition to the opening exhibition, OMM brings together different disciplines of contemporary art with the installation work of today's talented bamboo master Tanabe Chikuunsai IV and the multi-sensory immersive virtual reality experience that Marshmallow Laser Feast will present for the first time in Turkey.
A special selection from the Erol Tabanca Collection will be presented at the opening exhibition of OMM, curated by Haldun Dostoğlu. Erol Akyavaş, Ferruh Başağa, Ramazan Bayrakoğlu, Hans Op De Beeck, Guido Casaretto, Taner Ceylan, Sinan Demirtaş, among the artists who will take part in the exhibition, where nearly 100 works of art by more than 60 local and foreign artists from the 1950s to the present can be seen. Tayfun Erdoğmuş, İnci Eviner, Ahmet Doğu İpek, Gülsün Karamustafa, Assa Kauppi, Azade Köker, Jauma Plensa, Tunca Subaşı, Canan Tolon.
World-renowned Japanese bamboo master Tanabe Chikuunsai IV carried out the works of the installation he specially designed for OMM in Eskişehir. Tanabe, who successfully continues the family tradition of bamboo mastery and is known for his works that amaze those who see, is considered the most talented bamboo artist of his time. Working with the material known as "tiger bamboo" found in the village of Kochi, Japan and grown only in that region, Tanabe and his team used the knitted bamboo technique in this special installation, which is intertwined with the museum architecture. Tanabe, who underlined the need to carry them to the future while preserving the traditions, said that he designed the work he produced for OMM with this idea. The installation, specially produced for OMM, will be presented to art lovers with a performance that will take place with the artist's final touch during the opening.
Thanks for reading. I want to share more of Contemporary Architecture from now on.
I'll start sharing in twitter too, follow me on opnrert