Location:Tarsus, Turkey
Employer:Corio
Project Date:2009-2010
Constrcution Date:2011
Total Construction Area:63.000 m²
Architectural Schematic Design + Design Development:Altoon and Porter Architects
Architectural Project:Yazgan Design Architecture
Structural Project:Aydın Pelin - Can Binzet Engineering
Mechanical Project:Çilingiroğlu Engineering
Electrical Project:RAM Engineering
Fire Project:Karina
Project Management:Entegre
Breeam Assessor:Grontmij
Lighting Consultant:Lumen3
Contractor:Erba Construction
Constrcution Type:Reinforced Concrete, Steel
Photography Credits:Yunus Özkazanç 2012
Project Awards:European Property Awards 2012, Retail Architecture - 1st Prize
Photograph: Yunus Özkazanç Tarsu Shopping Center

TARSU SHOPPING AND ENTERTAINMENT CENTER

Tarsu is a 63.000 m² of shopping and entertainment center, which is located in Tarsus, Turkey. The two-story building with a basement floor has 75 shops with large scaled shopping and entertainment units, such as, a hypermarket, a technology shop, an entertainment center and cinemas, making it the largest shopping center in the city. The building’s ecological and technological attributes render the building to earn BREEAM certificate at the highest degree in Turkey.

The building attracts attention for its contemporary design, beautiful indoor and outdoor landscaping and the use of sustainable technologies at the exteriors as well as the interiors. It is located at the City of Tarsus, which is at a junction point of land and sea routes con­necting central Anato­lia and the Mediterranean Sea. The retail experience began in the city since the early periods. Tarsu Shopping Center takes inspiration from the craft of con­struction exhibited in the city throughout history. But the realization of this inspiration is not one of duplication. Realization is achieved with state-of-the-art materials and techniques that are physically and graphically communicated in a way that reflects several aspects of life in the 21st century. With the design of Tarsu Shopping Center, there is the under­standing that sustainability is defined by many subjects including quality of design with integration of water, light and nature to the building, and the use of both passive and active energy saving techniques.

Tarsu Shopping Center is a successful example for the integration of contemporary design with sustainable technologies. It uses the nature of materials to clarify the substance of the place. The visual gravity, permeability, or trans­parency of a material is associated with the skin, mass, message, or structure that the design wants to communicate. The building is covered with different materials, such as glass, terracotta baguettes, sandstone and onyx. They are lit by LED lighting elements at night, with their colors changing at sequential time periods, enhancing the allusion to the colorful palette that make up of the Tarsus urban culture.

The building’s ecological and technological attributes render the building to earn BREEAM certificate at the highest degree in Turkey. It is recognized that the greatest savings in the use of energy is in post-construction periods and that a majority of this is in lighting costs. Tarsu therefore makes a point of introducing abundant amounts of natural light. Additionally, sustainable design responses include: use of locally produced products; naturally ventilated public spaces; centralized lighting control; mass transit. Most importantly, due to its ability to accommodate a diversity of changing environments, Tarsu will remain a viable part of the community over the course of time.