Istanbul’s new favorite building, the Istanbul Museum of Modern Arts, was opened to visitors on May 4, 2023. The building, signed by Renzo Piano, has been awaited for a long time. The iconic structure is located at the museum’s original site on the waterfront in Karaköy, one of Istanbul’s historical areas where the Bosphorus and Golden Horn meet.
The museum idea is a component of a larger, 1.5-kilometer regeneration concept along the pier. The Galataport reconstruction project includes a network of underground parking and facilities that serve the port, the cruise ship terminal, and an above-ground commercial area. The ground floor level is raised to maximize the connection with the park and to hide the majority of the basement entry ramp north of the museum building in order to maintain a seamless visual and physical link between the waterfront and the park through the transparent lobby. The ground level is integrated into the nearby public spaces through a well-planned system of slopes and steps.
Three above-ground and two below-ground floors make up the five stories of the building. The 15,000 square meter structure houses Istanbul Modern’s current and future art collections in addition to giving a welcoming atmosphere for educational and cultural events, as well as numerous opportunities for community and citywide gatherings. A café, bookshop, library, museum information desks, and a designated workshop area for the “Discovery Space” project, created in partnership with the Centre Pompidou in Paris, are all accessible from the transparent lobby.
