The Atatürk Cultural Center (), commonly called the AKM, is a concert hall, theatre and cultural centre running along the eastern side of

Taksim Square Taksim Square (, ), situated in Beyoğlu in the European part of Istanbul, Turkey, is a major tourist and leisure district famed for its restaurants, shops, and hotels. It is considered the heart of modern Istanbul, with the central station of th ...

Beyoğlu Beyoğlu (; ) is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 9 km2, and its population is 225,920 (2022). It is on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey, separated from the o ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. Originally opened on April 12, 1969, it was closed for renovation works in 2008, but was ultimately demolished in 2018 and rebuilt in 2021 as a state-of-the-art cultural complex. On October 29, 2021, it reopened to the public after a 13-year interval. The new AKM building was designed by Murat Tabanlıoğlu, the son of Hayati Tabanlıoğlu who had designed the original AKM building. Werner Sobek AG was responsible for the facade engineering, creating a transparent facade that opens the building to Taksim Square.

History

Two Turkish architects, Feridun Kip and Rüknettin Güney, proposed the building of the center on May 29, 1946, and work started on it before funding was halted in 1953. In 1956, construction resumed under architect Hayati Tabanlıoğlu. The building, originally called the Istanbul Culture Palace, was completed in 13 years and opened on April 12, 1969, twenty-three years after the initial proposal.On November 27, 1970, fire broke out during a performance of

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are '' All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...

's play ''

The Crucible ''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1692 to 1693. Miller wrote ...

'' (''

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

'': ''Cadı Kazanı'', "The Witch's Cauldron"). Although there was no loss of life, some items brought from

Topkapı Palace The Topkapı Palace (; ), or the Seraglio, is a large museum and library in the east of the Fatih List of districts of Istanbul, district of Istanbul in Turkey. From the 1460s to the completion of Dolmabahçe Palace in 1856, it served as the ad ...

for the play of

Sultan Murad IV Murad IV (, ''Murād-ı Rābiʿ''; , was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1623 to 1640, known both for restoring the authority of the state and for the brutality of his methods. Murad IV was born in Constantinople, the son of Sul ...

, including a

caftan A kaftan or caftan (; , ; , ; ) is a variant of the robe or tunic. Originating in Asia, it has been worn by a number of cultures around the world for thousands of years. In Russian usage, ''kaftan'' instead refers to a style of men's long suit ...

belonging to the Sultan, a painting of him, and a historic

Koran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

were destroyed in the fire, the source of which was never identified. By June 2008, the Cultural Center was closed for renovations. The Board for the Protection of Cultural Property decided on 31 December 2009 that it should be renovated on the original site and on 9 April 2012, a tender was held for the renovation contract. The re-opening was planned for 29 October 2013,

Republic Day Republic Day is the name of a holiday in several countries to commemorate the day when they became republics. List January 1 January in Slovak Republic The day of creation of Slovak republic. A national holiday since 1993. Officially calle ...

with an estimated budget of 70 million (approx. US$39 million). However, in May 2013 the project was halted. Reports suggested that the AKM was to be demolished as part of redevelopment plans for

and

Gezi Park Gezi Park is an urban park next to Taksim Square, in Istanbul's Beyoğlu district (historically known as Pera). It is one of the last green spaces in Beyoğlu and one of the smallest parks of Istanbul. In May 2013, plans to replace the park with ...

and was to be replaced with a new opera house and a

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

.''Plans for Gezi Park''
BBC News. Retrieved 4 June 2013 During the

Gezi Park protests A wave of demonstrations and civil unrest in Turkey began on 28 May 2013, initially to contest the urban development plan for Istanbul's Gezi Park. The protests were sparked by outrage at the violent eviction of a sit-in at the park protesting ...

, which began on 28 May 2013, many protesters climbed onto the roof of the AKM during the night. The roof was evacuated and the police occupied the empty building and turned it into a logistics center. By February 2015, it was clear that the building, which had been empty for seven years, had been plundered; its technical installations,

lighting Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight. ...

and

audio equipment Audio equipment refers to devices that reproduce, record, or process sound. This includes microphones, radio receivers, AV receivers, CD players, tape recorders, amplifiers, mixing consoles, effects units, headphones, and speakers. Audio equip ...

as well as many other objects were sold at second hand markets or junk shops, even though the building was supposedly under police protection.

The old complex

The original AKM building covered and had a floor plan area of with a usable area of . The complex consisted of the Grand Stage, a hall with a 1,317 seat capacity hosting the

Turkish State Theatres The Turkish State Theatres ( – DT) is the official directorate of the national theatre companies in Turkey. It is bound to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and financed by the state to promote performed arts and enhance the public interest th ...

and performances of the

Turkish State Opera and Ballet The State Opera and Ballet () is the national directorate of opera and ballet companies of Turkey, with venues in Ankara, Istanbul, İzmir, Mersin, Antalya and Samsun. The directorate is bound to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. As of January ...

; and the Concert Hall, which had a seating capacity for 502 spectators and was used for concerts, meetings and conferences. There was also an exhibition hall of in the lobby, a Chamber Theatre with 296 seats, the

Aziz Nesin Aziz Nesin (; born Mehmet Nusret, 20 December 1915, Istanbul, Ottoman Empire – 6 July 1995, Izmir , Turkey) was a Turkish writer, humorist and the author of more than 100 books. Born in a time when Turks did not have official surnames, ...

Stage with 190 seats, and a cinema hall with 206 seats. Until 2008, the center was home to the *Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra and Choir (''İstanbul Devlet Senfoni Orkestrası ve Korosu''), *Istanbul State Modern Folk Music Ensemble (''İstanbul Devlet Modern Halk Müziği Topluluğu''), *Istanbul State Classical Turkish Music Choir (''İstanbul Devlet Klasik Türk Müziği Korosu''). Over the summer, the AKM hosted the Istanbul Arts and Culture Festival.

The new building

After it had been empty for ten years since 2008, demolition works of the original AKM building began on 13 February 2018, for the purpose of rebuilding it. The demolition works were completed on 30 May 2018. On 10 February 2019, construction of the new complex began with a groundbreaking ceremony attended by President

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

. The new Cultural Center consists of five sections, with a total area of . It features a theatre, cinema, concert halls, an exhibition center, a convention hall,

Vitali Hakko Vitali Hakko (1913 – 10 December 2007) was a Turkish businessman, founder of the Vakko clothing business. He was laid to rest at the Ulus Sephardi Jewish Cemetery in Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, ...

Creative Industries Library, a museum, an art gallery, a

Paşabahçe Paşabahçe (pron. "pah-shah-BAH-che", lit. "pasha's garden") is a chain of around 50 retail stores selling glass art, glassware, crystal, and other homeware, based in the Tuzla district of Istanbul, Turkey, part of the Şişecam company. It is n ...

art glass store, cafés, and restaurants. The new building was designed b
Murat Tabanlıoğlu
the son of Hayati Tabanlıoğlu, who had designed the original AKM building. Construction works cost 850 million (approx. US$162 million).

Gallery

File:A Model of Atatürk Kültür Merkezi (12966550065).jpg File:Atatürk Kültür Merkezi Construction, İstanbul (12966970424).jpg File:Atatürk Kültür Merkezi Construction, İstanbul (12966691423).jpg File:Taksim, İstanbul (12966441195).jpg File:Taksim, İstanbul (12966582183).jpg File:Atatürk Kültür Merkezi, İstanbul (12964525324).jpg File:Taksim Square, Istanbul (52151690752).jpg File:Taksim Square, Istanbul (52151661082).jpg File:Atatürk Cultural Center in October 2022 (3).jpg File:Atatürk Cultural Center in October 2022 (7).jpg

References

External links