Emre Arolat expands Turkey's Yalikavak Palmarina for megayacht owners
A+Awards: the next in our series of winners from this year's Architizer A+Awards is Emre Arolat Architecture's restoration and expansion of facilities for wealthy visitors at a Turkish marina.
Yalikavak Palmarina is located on Turkey's south coast, which has seen a boom in tourism over the past few years.
"Yalikavak is one of the lagoons on the southwestern coast of Turkey, which is becoming a popular destination for blue voyages along the Turkish Riviera," said Istanbul-based Emre Arolat Architecture (EAA).
"Unlike its provincial centre Bodrum, which faced a building boom in 1980s with the increase of touristic activities, Yalikavak is still a relatively calm, smaller-scale settlement with its natural landscape."
To accommodate the increase in upper-middle-class visitors, EAA added several features to the marina complex that would help boost the area's economy.
The first phase – on the section of the marina that juts out into the sea – included retail, restaurants, a beach-pool club, and sanitary and mechanical units for docked megayachts.
"The main motivation for the design of the 'island' was to search for the possibility to reconcile the needs of 'outcomers' with the genius loci of Yalikavak as a Mediterranean settlement," EAA said.
Travertine stone was used as cladding for the entire complex, to give it an aesthetic cohesion like the ancient cities of Kos, Rhodes and Siena.
Phases two and three involved the creation of more shops along the shore, where wide overhangs create a continuous shaded path between the units.
The complex also includes a boutique hotel, customs office building, a spa and fitness, an office building, storages and a shipyard for winter maintenance.
Work completed in 2014 on the project, which was awarded in the Marinas & Ports category at this year's A+Awards.
Organised by Architizer, the awards promote and celebrate the year's best projects and products. Their stated mission is to nurture the appreciation of meaningful architecture in the world and champion its potential for a positive impact on everyday life.
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Entries are now being accepted for the next A+Awards, with a discount available for submissions before 4 November 2016.