Balance Mixed Use Tower / Developing Street Level

Unlike most mixed use developments in Istanbul, or indeed in Turkey, the Balance Mixed Use Project sets out to develop an accessible community which integrates with its neighbours and over time recreates a street scape instead of impenetrable urban castles. The planning system in Turkey unfortunately dictates the castle model where developments restrict movement across the urban fabric. In the Balance, Avci Architects main starting point was to create an urban street with a community heart at its centre that not only brings together the occupants of the development but also invites users from adjacent sites to interact with the community. In this way the new development has already begun to change the way most large scale developments are taking place across Turkey.