Friday, March 15, 2013

Istanbul's $2.6B 'Wall Street' Has Towering Broccoli Florets - Architectural Craziness - Curbed National

Istanbul's $2.6B 'Wall Street' Has Towering Broccoli Florets
Friday, March 15, 2013, by Sarah Firshein

Very exciting news for fans of buildings that look like plants: the New International Finance Center has broken ground in Istanbul. Slated to be open in 2016, the $2.6B project is Turkey's version of Wall Street—"an experiment in how to make a financial powerhouse from scratch," as Architizer puts it. Spread over 170 acres, the complex, designed by the architecture firm HOK, includes retail, residential, office, and green space over four districts (civic, commerce, culture, and governance); whizbang high rises; and other buildings like these "geometric floral canopies" (above) conceived with sustainability—and the ability to accommodate the city's enormous population—in mind.

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