Abdullah Gul Presidential Library

An unparalleled exhibition of a hugely significant figure in Turkish politics.

Size
1800 sq m

Year
2015

Architect
Emre Arolat Architecture

Role: Lead Design

The AGPLM complex was planned by world-renowned architects Emre Arolat Associates (EAA). It includes a university and a museum dedicated to modern Turkish politics. The museum building was originally designed as a power station by Russian Constructivist architects before the second world war. The building had fallen into disrepair. It was extensively refurbished in order to house the new museum exhibition. 

The exhibition took its visual cues from the turbines that had been removed from the empty powerstation. The turbines were replaced by five experiential stations dedicated to the five decades after the second world war that shaped modern Turkish politics. Each station used a mixture of still photography and a collage of period media to convey impressions of each decade. Sound domes engaged visitors in the sound of an era as well as the documentary film footage highlighting the major events.  

Area: 2,000 sq.m

Design: Ralph Appelbaum Associates