The Mediterranean coast of Turkey is typical of the temperate climate of the whole Mediterranean region. Hot summers are balanced by breezy and rainy winters with consistent sunlight throughout the year. The architecture of residential buildings in the region has to adapt to these climatic advantages with solutions designed to maximize the lifestyle potential of the area. In GAD’s project for AHK Kndu, a number of formal and material design solutions were employed to build a series of sustainable and life-enhancing villas inside a multi-residential development project for a local property developer.
Studio Name: GAD
Design Team: Gokhan Avcioglu, Nesime Onel, Mustafa Kemal Kayis, Goksen Gungor, Esra Esen, Semih Acar, Pelin Aribas, Osman Sumer, Volkan Kutala
Construction Area: 28000 m2
Project Site Area: 33000 m2
Year: 2016
Location: Antalya, Turkey
Consultants: Haldun Kilit
Photography Credits: Ali Bekman
Other Credits:
Awards: 2018 Home Overseas Russian Awards, Best architecture, and design.
Best under construction development in Turkey with the AHK KNDU Villas.
2016 The Plan Awards, Honorable Mention for the AHK KNDU Villas.
2015 Sign of the City Awards Premium Project, The Greenest Building Under Construction.
2015 European Property Awards Residential Development for Turkey for The AHK KNDU Villas, International Property Awards.
Located in Antalya, Turkey AHK Kundu consists of four large, twenty-two medium, and twelve small residential units set inside a site adjacent to a waterway that leads to the nearby Mediterranean Sea. The design of the project features sustainable design and build principles driven by environmental factors with the aim of construction using only locally available materials for low waste and low pollution. But importantly there were climactic factors that also dictated unique formal architectural solutions that were a challenge to construction using these locally sourced materials.
The design of the AHK Villas was guided by principals designed to create climatically responsive architecture based on the design of an exterior shell employed to optimize sunlight, wind, and air circulation. Each of the villas was placed in a north-south orientation maximizing the use of sunlight via this conjoined double-curved shell built with a combination of structural steel, corrugated aluminum, and wood cladding. The technical engineering challenge to build this unique shape as the primary structural and architectural feature of the project with local materials and builders was the project’s primary challenge. Complexity in the construction brief intended to localize the building materials yet create a universal design meant that the realization of the shell was a key factor. The architecture of this shell features carefully positioned openings to take advantage of natural daylight, increase privacy and also aid in cross ventilation to create a reduction in energy consumption levels. The form and exterior timber cladding have multiple functions as it regulates climatic conditions, defining the boundary of each unit, and also allows for the natural sun in the interior.
The structural shell clad in local pine and oak brings an element of nature and regionality to the design. The warm organic colors communicated a message of timelessness in the application of different textures, patterns, and temperatures evoking the senses with a unique Mediterranean feeling. In this way, the project skilfully combines modern living with an orientation toward nature, where the gardens and green spaces merge into the contemporary Mediterranean environment realized with a disciplined and sustainable approach to architecture and construction attuned to the location.
