"Looking at REX's Vakko Fashion Center in Istanbul
By Ann Binlot
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
History: Cem Hakko, CEO of Vakko and Power Media, hired REX to build the company headquarters in 2008, when he was visiting New York for fashion week. Hakko told the firm that it had about a year to complete the project. Taking an adaptive reuse approach, the group applied plans for a canceled project at the California Institute of Technology to an abandoned skeleton in Istanbul — an unfinished hotel that had been unoccupied for 20 years. Coincidentally, the U-shaped skeleton of the site matched the dimensions of the canceled project, which sped up the process. Caltech's loss became Vakko and Power Media's gain, allowing for construction to begin a staggering four days after the commission was finalized in February 2008. By March 2009, REX had fulfilled Hakko's wishes: most of the structure was complete. Vakko held the building's opening ceremony in January 2010, and the building took its place as one of the gems of contemporary architecture in Istanbul."
More:Looking at REX's Vakko Fashion Center in Istanbul - ARTINFO.com
