İğneada, Kırklareli, Turkey

The ambitious Longosphere Glamping by Yazgan Design for Istranca Tourism adds new value to the surrounding area, offering an environmentally sensitive nature-tourism experience on the Black Sea coast in the northwestern tip of Turkey.

For its innovative and ecological pursuits, Longosphere Glamping has recently been awarded a 2022 International Architecture Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.

İğneada is a small town on the Black Sea coast, within Kırklareli Province, on the north-western side of Turkey. 

The area contains a number of rare ecosystems of floodplain and deciduous forests, coastal dunes, freshwater, and saltwater lakes, all combined with rich fauna and flora.

Incorporating such ecological diversity in a small region makes İğneada a unique location.

The project site is an afforestation area covering 17 hectares of land, with trees planted by the local authorities approximately 40 years ago. 

It is located by the main road leading to the center of İğneada, one kilometer away from the sea.

Ivy- or moss-covered oak and pine trees, forest fruit-bearing shrubs, briar bushes, and a vast variety of fungi are only a few species that are already present at the project site. 

The İğneada Glamping project has a valuable mission of protecting this local forestall ecosystem, by defining a new use for the area. 

İğneada attracts a remarkable number of tourists, especially nature-related activities, and outdoor recreation seekers. 

The project aims to meet the needs of those who would like to experience İğneada’s special natural context, while introducing a new kind of accommodation: glamping.

Glamorous camping is a currently wide-spreading type of nature-based tourism, where visitors have direct contact with nature without giving up certain comforts of modern life. 

The overall design of the Longosphere Glamping and leisure complex is based on three functionally varying zones and their interrelations.

A carefully planned hierarchy and circulation pattern are reflected physically on the master plan. 

Three main areas, a daycation zone, activity zone, and accommodation zone, are planned to form three leaf-shaped areas merging at one point—the entrance. 

The entrance point, located on the north-east edge of the site, is also the focal point of concentric semi-circles that regulate the public-to-private distribution of the units.

Main circulation paths delineating the zones are composed of roads for electric golf carts, bicycle lanes, and pedestrian paths. 

Each zone is further divided by a central axis (the route for in-zone circulation) and two radial paths (the route for between-the-zones passage), which are only for pedestrian use. 

The area dedicated to daily visitors (the last leaf on the masterplan) includes picnic areas where the cooking activity will take place in a controlled and forest-friendly manner. It is reached by a path with small shops around.

This zone is for all users but mainly serves as an establishment for excursionists who will visit the facility on a single-day basis. 

The activity zone is located in the middle, extending towards the south limits of the site as a binding element for the other two. 

Tennis and basketball fields, a multipurpose green amphitheater, an adventure park, and two thematic tent villages for young visitors are the core functions of this zone. 

The third and the largest zone (the west leaf) is designed for accommodation and services for boarding visitors.

At the center of this zone, a biological lake will fill the natural valley formation, making use of the existing topographic qualities of the site to create an attraction factor and therefore enhance the visitor experience. 

Around the lake, different types of lodging units that vary from cabins to glamping tents are organized in seven thematic villages, with their camping squares.

Additionally, a lobby cafe, a spa, and a meeting hall are designed to serve the visitors’ specific needs. 

All units in the project—from the smallest service units to the biggest gathering spaces—are designed as variations on a theme. 

A single structural system and material palette are applied to different forms. 

Each unit is wrapped with a framework of repeating wooden ribs that define the modularity, give the scale, and constitute the final form.

A secondary rib system that runs in the opposite direction serves as the load-bearing structure for the main rib system. 

Every unit sits on supports and is slightly detached from the natural ground, ensuring the minimum impact on the existing vegetation and soil formation. 

As the main aspect of the overall design approach, natural, sustainable, and recyclable materials with minimum ecological footprint are utilized for the making of each unit.

The project of Longosphere Glamping is ambitious and innovative in its conceptual aspects, giving value to the surrounding area and offering an unprecedented nature-tourism experience in Turkey, while also aiming to remain environmentally sensitive.

Project: Longosphere Glamping
Architects: Yazgan Design Architecture Inc.
Lead Architects: Kerem Yazgan and Begüm Yazgan
General Contractor: Istranca Tourism
Client: Istranca TourismPhotographers: Emre Dorter and Kerem Yazgan