IBA KIMYA R&D BUILDING INTERIOR DESIGN
İBA Kimya is a company that produces electrostatic powder coatings, furniture coatings, and industrial liquid coatings, while also carrying out ongoing R&D activities. The existing building, constructed in 2008 in the Ankara Sincan Organized Industrial Zone, was comprehensively renovated in 2025. The project focused on the building’s interior, encompassing production and R&D areas, offices, social spaces, service areas, and shared facilities.
The design process began with a preliminary study and workshop in which the existing building and the organization of the production process were examined together. The sequence of paint production processes, the equipment used, circulation patterns, and the relationships between different stages were analyzed. This study revealed how the existing building could better serve the way production was organized.
The R&D center was conceived as a prototype of the paint production processes in the factory, with the aim of supporting the development and improvement of production. The primary design challenge was to enable numerous technical functions to operate within the same building as a coherent flow, without interfering with one another. Therefore, the linear flow of the production process became the main input for the spatial organization.
Electrostatic powder coating production consists of the stages of raw material storage, batching, mixing, extrusion, grinding, application, and bonding. In accordance with the formulas developed by the engineers, raw materials are weighed and homogenized in high-speed mixers. They are then subjected to heat and mechanical force in extruders, where they are transformed into a molten state. Following extrusion, the resulting chips are ground down to micron-sized particles, then applied to test panels and inspected, with production completed through the bonding process.
This sequence was directly translated into a spatial organization within the design. The successive stages of the process were separated from one another, while the positioning of equipment, employee circulation, and relationships between functions were organized accordingly. As a result, the production flow became more legible, linear, and controlled. Colors were used as a wayfinding and separation tool supporting this organization.
A second key aspect of the project was to use İBA Kimya’s own coatings directly within the interior design, while simultaneously creating a showroom experience for visitors. The starting point was the idea of creating a “continuous field of color extending from the floor to the walls and furniture” and exploring whether different materials could be integrated within the same color. This approach was tested across a range of surfaces and materials. PVC flooring, walls, MDF shelves and countertops, and metal cabinets were all treated within the same color family. Electrostatic powder coating was used on metal surfaces, liquid paint on walls, and lacquer paint on wood surfaces. In this way, different materials were brought together through a common color language while retaining their individual surface qualities. Rather than functioning as a decorative element, color became the fundamental design tool connecting the different components of the space.
The same approach was continued in the social area on the upper floor. In the orange social space, the floor, cabinets, shelves, and refrigerator were all treated in the same color, reducing the boundary between architectural surfaces and furniture. Color was not used as a singular accent, but as a system defining the entire space.
This design approach was further maintained and developed by the client after the completion of the project. Furniture and accessories were selected to match the existing colors; even everyday objects such as waste bins, napkin holders, and tea jars were reconsidered in the same shade of orange. Some of these objects were even painted in the factory using the same coating. In this way, the design decision extended beyond architectural surfaces and became part of the way users interacted with and completed the space.
The İBA Kimya R&D Center emerged not merely as an interior design project, but as an analysis and synthesis of how production can be transformed into space, and how space itself can become an integral part of the process of production.
PROJECT FACTS
LAND
Location Ankara, Türkiye
CLIENT
İBA Kimya
PROJECT DATE
2023-2024
PROJECT DATA
Total Construction Area 2.000 m²
PROJECT TEAMS
Architectural Project Yazgan Design Architecture
Interior Design Project Yazgan Design Architecture
CONSTRUCTION
Construction Date 2024-2025
PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS
Yunus Özkazanç (2026)
VIDEO CREDITS
Yunus Özkazanç (2026)