Ziraat Bank

Located at the heart of the Istanbul International Financial Centre, the completion of the Ziraat Towers project later this year will add an impressive ornament the city’s new business district.

Istanbul has always held a place of strategic importance throughout its highly diverse history. As the only city in the world to straddle two continents, its location between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean galvanised its place as a trading centre with its Grand Bazaar remaining the biggest of its kind in the world with over 3,000 shops.

Today, Turkey retains its status as a strategic destination in terms of trade and is now aiming to become a top twenty financial centre as well. As part of the city’s vision, the Istanbul International Financial Centre (IIFC) was conceptualised and designed to cater towards the country’s burgeoning banks, public institutions, MNCs and service firms. Located on a 70-hectare plot and equipped with all the amenities for a permanent population of 30,000, with the capacity to cater for a workday swell of 100,000, the one million square metre project will not only put Istanbul firmly on the map as a financial centre, but also serve as a brand new multipurpose district equipped with residential buildings, a hotel, conference centre for 2,000 delegates, mosques, schools, car parking and other community facilities.

Recognised as one of the country’s oldest state-owned institutions and largest bank in terms of assets, Ziraat Bank’s presence at the heart of the IIFC was almost a given. After selecting the unique and impressive design by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates PC Architecture, the vase-shaped building includes seven basement levels, eight podium and two towers of 40 and 46 floors, with the taller reaching a height of 235 metres. One of the projects unique features includes a stone-covered auditorium with an atrium area suitable for events and activities, all built to a LEED Gold standard by main contractor, Kalyon Insaat San Tic A.S.

Commencing work just three months behind the main contractor, Doka’s team started on site in August 2018 with two major challenges. Firstly, with a fixed deadline of March 2021, the solution needed to be extremely efficient and secondly, follow the telescopic shape of the building. In using our Automatic Climbing Formwork Xclimb 60 in conjunction with telescopic panels, we were able to achieve both objectives, while also implementing full screens that were completely closed, meaning higher protection for site teams. In addition, an Xbright panel solution was used for the big cantilever, while special floor supports were used for the big openings on the slab.

Speaking on behalf of Kalyon Insaat San Tic A.S, rough construction chief, Hürol Argun, said; “We received all the engineering support we needed from Doka’s team who were always on hand to find solutions from start to finish. There were no delays in terms of procurement and their on-site team provided a highly comprehensive level of support and training, which included their continued presence on site to support the overall delivery. All this, mixed with their consummate professionalism towards health and safety were decisive factors in the projects timely progress.”

Project manager, Mehmet Reşit Bereket, added; “I would like to extend my thanks to the Doka team for all works carried out on this project. The process, engineering solutions, material procurement and application support were all highly valued to our team and the overall project.”

Automatic Climbing Formwork Xclimb 60 was used for the core walls, while Framed Formwork Framax Xlife was used for the columns and walls. Load Bearing Towers were used for the slabs and Column Formwork RS for the circular columns.

At the time of writing, Doka Turkey is in the process of concluding its work, with the overall project sent to open to the public in Q1 2022.