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DesignNewswire · COMO, Italy ·

Denizbank Aquarium Office by Kontra Architecture Wins the Silver A' Design Award in Interior Space and Exhibition Design

Kontra Architecture acknowledged for interior space and exhibition design by the international grand jury of the 2020 - 2021 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 23, 2021 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Silver A' Design Award in the Interior Space and Exhibition Design category for Denizbank Aquarium Office by Kontra Architecture, designed for Denizbank. The award was conferred within the 2020 - 2021 A' Design Award & Competition and was determined through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who assessed anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.

What the Silver A' Design Award Means

The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.

About Denizbank Aquarium Office

Denizbank Aquarium is an innovation and entrepreneurship center located within a bank headquarters in Istanbul. The office occupies a basement level where daylight is limited. Acoustic panels depicting the sea and water movement cover the surfaces, and textured materials recall the colorful underwater world. Contrasting colors are combined with natural materials to create a vibrant and balanced space. Modules with low ceilings and separated seating groups add comfort. A lighting system imitates daylight to support the motivation and circadian rhythm of employees.

Award Record

Kontra Architecture is a winner of 1 A' Design Award, including this recognition.

About the A' Interior Space, Retail and Exhibition Design Award

The A' Interior Design Award is an international interior design competition recognizing good interior designs by interior designers and architects worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to interior designers, interior architects, architects and decorators from all countries. Entries typically include residential interiors, restaurants, hotels, offices, galleries and retail stores. Awarded interior designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/interior

About A' Design Award & Competition

A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission to advance society through good design by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, the upload of a work and the preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com

Press Resources

Media Contact

Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953

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Fact Sheet

The Work

Project
Denizbank Aquarium Office
Function
Office
Category
Interior Space and Exhibition Design
Discipline
Spatial Design
Industry
Architecture and Packaging & Retail
Colors
Black, Midnight Blue, Dim Gray, Dark Olive Green and Dark Slate Gray
Images
5
Client
Denizbank

The Recognition

Laureate
Kontra Architecture
Country
Turkiye
Recognition
Silver A' Design Award
Edition
2020 - 2021
Design ID
#119832

Credits

Team
Gülşah Cantaş, Founder, Cengiz Bozal, Designer, Hacer Dogan, Project Manager, Eda Bozkurt, Interior Designer and Burak Gobut, Interior Designer
Image Credits
Photographer Ibrahim Ozbunar

Design Details

Unique Properties
Denizbank Aquarium is an innovation and entrepreneurship center located at Denizbank Headquarters. Defining its journey as a venture with the metaphor of Aquarium, Sea and Ocean, all the needs of Denizbank in this place are combined with Kontra's design vision to create a new generation working environment. Providing a comfortable and unconventional atmosphere to the user in order to increase creativity and productivity in working environments is at the core of this design approach.
Inspiration
Inspired by the relaxing effect of the water element and the colorful and always surprising world of the sea; It is aimed to create a space that makes users feel comfortable and keeps their motivation high. From the moment you enter the aquarium, you can feel the ocean feeling on all surfaces thanks to the acoustic panels depicting the sea and water movement, textured material choices that reference the colorful world of the submarine.
Challenge
Office is located in under the basements, therefore daylight was so limited and that is why this project called ''Aquarium''. In office spaces lighting is the core issue due to keeping motivation high.The problem is solved with spatial planning, material choices and innovative lighting systems.
Realization and Technology
Contrasting colors are mixed with natural materials to create a vibrant and balanced space. Modules with low ceilings and isolated seating groups are designed to make employees feel cozier and more comfortable while increasing their sense of belonging to the company. The movement of the daylight plays an important role in the wellbeing of employees. Considering the fact that they spend majority of their day indoors for long hours; a lighting system that mimics the daylight has been designed in harmony with the motivation and circadian rhythm of the users.
Project Duration and Location
The project started in December 2019 and finished in November 2020, and located at Denizbank HQ / Istanbul.
Keywords
Co-working, Office, Aquarium, Sea

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