This is part of a wider programme to transform the Ottoman Empire’s first power plant, operational from 1910 to 1984, into university facilities. The boiler rooms were demolished in the late 1980s but the centre refers to them in its identical size and structure: a reinforced concrete base and core with steel shell. The building’s bulk is, however, diffused by its cladding of perforated sheet metal, giving it a cloud-like appearance that suggests the ghostly presence of the former building. The perforations also open the interior to light and views, so that it is not isolated from its environment, while allowing light to spill out at night.
Source:
The Aga Khan Trust for Culture, 2011.
