13 years after the Atatürk Cultural Center reopens its doors

Located on the emblematic Taksim Square, the new Atatürk Cultural Center opened its doors on October 29th. After a little over 2 and a half years of work, visit in pictures in its brand new premises.

The “Atatürk Kültür Merkezi” (AKM), closed since 2008, is rising from its ashes. A reconstruction project had been prepared, then announced in 2017, when the need for restoration had been felt for a few years already. After more than two years of work, the doors of the center finally reopened on the day of the 98th anniversary of the founding of the Republic. The Turkish President, during the inauguration, presented the center as “a gift for future generations”.

Indeed, this cultural center aims to promote art and culture in Turkey, in particular thanks to its opera with a capacity of 2,040 spectators, or its theater that can accommodate up to 802 people. Different events such as plays, concerts, ballets or operas will continue throughout the year.

This huge complex organized over several floors also has a spacious library with a large collection of books focusing on art, architecture, design and culture, and a music platform where exhibits on the history and heritage of Turkish music.

There is also a children's art center, a cinema, an exhibition hall, a recording studio, as well as a design shop and cafes. In short, everything you need to attract a good number of visitors!

The AKM - which opened in 1969 as "Istanbul's Palace of Culture" - had remained the city's most important art center for many years; he thus prepares to continue his mission.

An architecture between heritage and modernity

The AKM is added to the list of must-see monuments in Istanbul. From Taksim Square, a key point of the metropolis, it is impossible to miss this building with its impressive architecture and an area of ​​95,000 square meters. From the outside, the huge glass facade reveals the opera built in the shape of a sphere made up of 15,000 special ceramic pieces.

The construction project was entrusted to the architect Murat Tabanlıoğlu, who is none other than the son of Hayati Tabanlıoğlu, the architect behind the design of the first center. Mr. Tabanlıoğlu has remained true to his father's work, preserving the iconic structure and features of the building. In addition, the wall of Sadi Diren, the ceramist of the former AKM, was completely rebuilt identically. The spiral staircase in the foyer of the opera is also faithful to the original. It is then a nice nod to the past of this center, whose history is not the least turbulent (fire in 1970, political disagreements and lawsuits related to the renovation project, then abandonment in 2008) .

With modernized architecture and state-of-the-art technology in terms of stage mechanics, it can be said that the new Atatürk Cultural Center is an upgraded version of what previously existed.

Thus, more than a cultural center, it is a real living space, free, for visitors and lovers of art and culture.