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 ( tr, Taksim Meydanı, ), 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 c ...

Beyoğlu Beyoğlu (, ota, بك‌اوغلی, script=Arab) is a district on the European side of İstanbul, Turkey, separated from the old city (historic peninsula of Constantinople) by the Golden Horn. It was known as the region of Pera (Πέρα, meani ...

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

. 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.

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's play '' The Crucible'' (''Cadı Kazanı'', "The Witch's Cauldron", in Turkish). Although there was no loss of life, some items brought from

Topkapı Palace The Topkapı Palace ( tr, Topkapı Sarayı; ota, طوپقپو سرايى, ṭopḳapu sarāyı, lit=cannon gate palace), or the Seraglio A seraglio, serail, seray or saray (from fa, سرای, sarāy, palace, via Turkish and Italian) i ...

for the play of Sultan Murad IV (a caftan belonging to the Sultan, a painting of him, and a historic

Koran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing.: ...

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

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

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

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 Speaker (audio equipmen ...

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

Atatürk Kültür Merkezi, Side Foyer, İstanbul (12965327503)

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 ( tr, Devlet Tiyatroları - 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 t ...

and performances of the

Turkish State Opera and Ballet Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

; 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 – 6 July 1995) was a Turkish writer, humorist and the author of more than 100 books. Born in a time when Turks did not have official surnames, he had to adopt one after the Surname Law of 1 ...

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'') and *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 serving as the List of presidents of Turkey, 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as Lis ...

. 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, a library, a museum, an art gallery, a Paşabahçe 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