Republika Academic Aparts

Republika Academic Aparts

Bearing the slogan ‘Comfortable as a hotel, warm as a home’, Republika is a new concept in student accommodation; design by Autoban.

Bearing the slogan ‘Comfortable as a hotel, warm as a home’, Republika is a new concept in student accommodation with three branches located in different parts of Istanbul. Designed by Autoban, the residencies lever up the standards of student housing with thoughtfully planned habitable units that provide utmost comfort within compact spaces, as well as the carefully organised relationship of private and public areas.

In the first two branches in Ortaköy and Büyükçekmece, the converted properties boast around 230 rooms and 650 beds each, whereas the purpose-built (also by Autoban) Florya branch accommodates 83 rooms with 188 beds.

Since economy and efficiency are the prime goals, all three projects address the challenge of creating pleasurable living environments with cost-effective and durable materials, and coming up with perfect architectural solutions that make the most of daylight, height and space.

In creating the design concept for Republika, Autoban followed the principles of modernist architecture, designing a repetitive module of simple geometric forms that inscribe across the architecture. The series of modules are made to fit in the existing architectural shell of the first two branches, while the individual module forms the basis of the architecture and their repetitive assembly makes up the entire building in the more recent Florya branch.

Depending on the accommodation type, the modules occupy the essential minimum amount of square meters, while the fairly generous proportions of shared areas encourage social interaction among students. Each self-contained, boxlike module consists of sleeping, study, storage and bathroom areas, where the latter is integrated to the rooms as a second box, almost like a piece of furniture, not to interrupt the perception of space as a whole. The careful organisation of the modules, which respects the constructive frames of the buildings, also allows for maximising daylight for each unit.

The walkways linking the rooms are painted in a different shade of a bright colour on each floor, giving a sense of individuality to the otherwise generic environment, and cheering up the otherwise dull spaces. On all floors, there are lounge areas equipped with kitchenettes, and the remaining communal areas consist of cafe, gym, study room, PlayStation room, art atelier and cinema located on the lower grounds. All three branches also feature outdoor roof terraces complete with swimming pools, and offer hairdresser, laundry and dry-cleaning services.

Overall, Republika Academic Aparts is a new model for student residency that is not all about spaces but also a certain lifestyle designed for today’s students to fulfill their daily needs within reach and with pleasure.

Total area Ortaköy: 19,140 sqm, Büyükçekmece: 12,000 sqm, Florya: 3,600 sqm Client Bilgili Holding Interior design Autoban Project team Seyhan Özdemir, Sefer Çağlar / Gökhan Uzun, Bilal Aydın, Mert Dedeoğlu, Zeynep Akten, Nihal Akarsu, Müge Çakır Photography Ali Bekman

>Republika Academic Aparts
>Republika Academic Aparts