Baruthane Children's Experience Center
Bakırköy, Istanbul
Baruthane buildings, which served as a gunpowder house from 1700 to 1955, are important historical and cultural documents that have survived to the present day, bearing the traces of both the period they were first built and the periods they were repaired. While the restoration project was being carried out, this was taken into consideration and it was aimed to preserve the complex in accordance with its original form.
Among the four buildings which make up Baruthane Children’s Experience Center, Building No. 1 has been considered as Learning Center, Building No. 2 as Art Workshop, Building No. 3 as Technology Workshop and Building No. 4 as Multi-Purpose Hall. A pavilion has been proposed in the center of the courtyard, which will serve as both an information center and a cafe. This new building is a single storey steel structure with a floor area of 218 m², surrounded by a sunshade shell composed of timber battens. The roof terrace of the pavilion can be reached via a ramp that turns around the structure. The voids between the buildings were evaluated with landscaping features such as a playground, a sandbox and an outdoor activity area, which allowed to create a lively and active Children’s Experience Center.