Chicago, Illinois, USA
Planned by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, the Istanbul City Museum tells the 8,000-year story of the city from multiple perspectives. It serves as a center of attraction, reflecting the past, present, and future of Istanbul. Designing a museum for a city with a history dating back to the 7th century BC is challenging, compounded by the site’s location next to the historical walls and the vast inventory to be incorporated into the narrative.
Museum of Istanbul by Salon Alper Derinbogaz won an 2025 International Architecture Award from The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design.
The museum is adjacent to the Gate of St. Romanus in the 5th-Century Theodosian City Walls, a key landmark of Istanbul’s multi-layered history. These walls, integral to the evolving identity of the city known as Byzantion, Konstantinopolis, Konstantiniyye, and Istanbul, guided the design process. Over time, as the urban settlement expanded, the walls became part of the city center.
The museum is both welcoming and introspective, designed as a structure carved out of a solid mass. Its low height relates to the nearby historic walls, while the design incorporates rotation to align with the land wall route and transportation hub. A pedestrian bridge connects to the site’s topography. The first floor, with permanent exhibition halls, hovers above the ground on broad cantilevered canopies, allowing the main mass to elevate and creating transparency on the ground floor. The ground floor includes public functions such as a library, lecture hall, cafes, and children’s workshops, all opening to the Museum Square and park. Below ground, laboratories, storage, workshops, and parking are housed.
The central courtyard is a vital circulatory and meeting space, shaping the museum’s morphology. Visitors are guided on a spiral journey through Istanbul’s history, starting with the permanent exhibition. Designed to be more than an inventory museum, the 38,000m² Istanbul City Museum includes a library, children’s workshop, restaurants, and temporary exhibition halls. Daylight penetrates through the courtyard, creating a vibrant environment where visitors can spend the entire day.
The monolithic museum mass is aligned with the entrance axis and visitor route. The façade, made of anodized metal and glass, reflects weather conditions and the surrounding landscape. The glass ground floor maintains transparency, connecting the museum to the park and Museum Square. The cantilevered structure provides protection from the elements while ensuring visual and physical connectivity to the outdoor spaces.
Situated in an underused park, the museum plaza extends into the landscape, connecting the building with the park and creating a shared attraction point. Open spaces, courtyards, and terraces are inspired by Istanbul’s unique landscape.
Inspired by Orhan Pamuk’s concept of the museum as time itself, the curation follows a thematic and chronological layout. The exhibition path consists of seven sections, each with unique scenarios and designs, guiding visitors on a cyclical journey. The enclosed courtyard serves as a space for rest and reflection, connecting various parts of the museum. The permanent exhibition halls are organized into categories such as “From the Sea to the City”, “Urban Landscape of Istanbul”, and “Life of Places and Institutions,” providing a comprehensive understanding of Istanbul through history.
Architects: Salon Alper Derinbogaz
Lead Architect: Alper Derinbogaz
Design Team: Cem Pişirici, Egemen Onur Kaya, Thibault Jalby, Cansu Altıntaş, Şevki Topçu, Ecem Çınar, Daniele Ronca, Orçun Girgin, Aras Kalkan, Tevfik Saygın Özcan, Deniz Karadere, and Aras Kalkan
Landscape Architects: Enise Derinbogaz, Praxis Landscape
General Contractor: Fortis İnşaat
Client: Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality
Photographers: Yerçekim Architectural Photography
