Filyos, Zonguldak, Turkey – Melike Altınışık Architects – MAA has unveiled the design for the new TPAO Headquarters which has begun the construction process in June 2022 in Zonguldak, Turkey.
The new Headquarters designed for Turkish Petroleum A.O., which is also an unique observation space, is located in the area where the Filyos river flows into the Black Sea, named Billaius in ancient times, which is the most crucial point of the western side of the Black Sea coast connecting with the inner regions.
TPAO Headquarters, which is planned within the Filyos Port area, has been designed to serve the high-level office spaces of the region while also becoming an observation space on the verge of the breakwater wall.
In terms of the architectural design approach, the new headquarters is defined as a threshold where the borders between land and sea, between past and future, between history and technology melts into each other at the western edge of Filyos Port. The building’s design aims to transform the existing breakwater wall, which is a spatial conjunction between time and continuity, into a new interface space that is 110 meters wide and 30 meters deep.
This interface space establishes a bridge between the history, nature, and technology, where the borders become spatial and gets blurred the relationships between spaces. It will become a new workplace with units that will support the main meeting spaces and observation spaces. This observation space is more than a sudden definition, it discusses its reflection on the spatial and behavioral geography of the region through several routes.
TPAO Headquarters, located on the breakwater wall, will provide an area of approx. 3270 square meters and consists of 3 floors above ground. The existing 4.5 meters tall breakwater wall has been raised up to 9 meters where the highest elevation point of the building reaches up to 17 meters.
The ground floor of the building is conceived as a shared space which consists of main entrance, information-lobby, kitchen, technical area, and support volumes. The center of the building is dedicated to a two-floor height generous atrium that creates visual and circulative connections between all spaces. The main floors are divided between offices, meeting rooms and observation facilities. First floor consists of the open office areas, general manager’s room, secretariat, cafeteria, archive, and support volumes. The high-level meeting room with a capacity of 50 people is placed on top of the main atrium space as if it is hanging structure on it. Besides the main meeting room its big foyer area and an observation terrace area are located on the second floor. In addition to the main meeting hall, the large foyer area, and the observation terrace areas where visitors can experience the harbor area 360 degrees are located on the second floor of the building. While historical Filyos geography and the Black Sea can be observed in all its naturalness from the viewing terrace which protrudes approximately 5 meters towards the Black Sea in the west side, the operational daily motion of the Filyos Port can be observed in the east direction.
TPAO Headquarters construction process is expected to be completed with the official opening slated in the first quarter of 2023.
