An important starting point is the unifying, inclusive, and overarching role of the roof. In our view, this would be a meeting point not only for hotel guests but also for the city’s value-generating individuals, taking its name precisely from its location: The Roof.
VIBRANT CENTRE OF SOCIAL LIFE
Altınel Ankara Hotel made an important start in the tourism sector in the 1980s with its vision as the first 5-star hotel in Ankara. It has maintained this vision for many years by hosting the most qualified events of the capital’s social and entertainment life. With exceptional experiences it housed (such as the transparent covered pool on the roof), integrated with the terrace on the top floor, it appealed to the upper income level and continued to be a popular venue in the city. During the period when casinos were legal, it was a centre of attraction not only for the hotel’s customers but also for guests from other cities and abroad. The fact that Ankara was not only an administrative centre but also a financial centre in the 80s and 90s was important in creating this environment. By early 2000s, the financial centre began to shift to İstanbul, and Ankara’s urban and social life began to decline.
THE CENTRAL LOCATION
The hotel is in the heart of the city, on Tandoğan Square. Its proximity to Ankara’s two major universities within walking distance, closeness to important cultural landmarks such as the CSO and CerModern, the visual connection it establishes with iconic structures of the city like Anıtkabir, the Castle, and the Kocatepe Mosque, as well as its proximity to transportation networks, are valuable and still hold significant potential in terms of tourism.
NEW IDEAS FOR CONVERSION
Altınel Ankara Hotel has tried to keep up with this change from time to time and various revisions were made within its facilities. Since its opening, various extensions have been made on the 8th floor. While the pool and the VIP suite were almost the only indoor spaces on the floor in the first version, today the entire floor has become closed. Although some of these additions were intended to be integrated, an eclectic result emerged. The new architectural ideas were developed on how to transform this floor to upgrade the hotel to its formal and and locational potential.
OBJECTIVES
The Altınel Ankara Hotel is currently labeled as a business hotel, with the existing user profile in line with this label. The customer profile shows individuals visiting the city for daily round-trips for business meetings, while the second group comprises those who arrive through agencies to use the hotel as a stop before heading to central Anatolian tourism destinations. The proposed scenario aims to increase the diversity of hotel users and increase customer frequency by attracting local population for social life and recreation.
THE FLOOR 8
So, in the light of these, what kind of space is the 8th floor inclined to become? Our starting concept is the roof with its unifying, inclusive, and the umbrella role. In our opinion, this place should be a meeting point not only for the hotel’s guests, but also for the value-adding people of the city. A professor from Ankara University and amanager of an international company in İstanbul who might stay at the hotel should be able to do work without leaving the hotel; the Koleksiyon Mobilya should be able to present its new series of furniture here; university students with creative ideas about artificial intelligence should be able to gather on this floor; the Danish couple who stopped in the city before travelling to Cappadocia should be able to hold their online meetings here before hitting the road, and many other stories… This place should be a meeting and melting point for many more encounters and stories. It takes its name from the place where it is: The Roof.
THE ROOF. AND OTHERS
We think the name ‘The Roof’ is the perfect name for the shelter and shell that brings this diversity together. So how could we realise this technically? The existing service area of the building was preserved. Areas outside the service area were conceived as an integral whole. It is important that every square metre of the floor is valuable and that new functions we propose need the least service area.
As a natural part of the scenario, the sloped surface of the pool on the 7th floor was removed, transforming the pool into a volume that connects both floors. The foyer on this floor was designed to benefit from natural light. An interaction space was created with addition of an amphitheatre built in steel, to be named as “Under the Dome.” The existing exposed dome was transformed from a dividing element to a central feature that takes role in shaping the space. With seating units and platforms attached to the perimeter, the function was diversified under the name “Above the Dome.”
The immediate area around ‘Above the Dome’ was transformed into a co-working space. Quieter and more concentrated workspaces have been placed in this area. A youtuber who wants to produce content, or company officials who want to explain their new software to the staff of the Ministry of Health are potential users of this space. However, ‘Under the Dome’ is a transitional space. Workspaces here are like the slightly mobile spaces of a coffee chain. The amphitheatre is the main link between the hotel and ‘The Roof’.
The basic principle in all the materials and interventions that used in design was simplicity and authenticity. On the facade, interventions that follow the system of the existing façade were made, with reference to it but not overshadowing it.
THE AFTER.
In our opinion, this change will spread to the main body of the hotel and its the future scenario, with other spaces of the hotel under pressure of need for transformation. We believe that the 7th floor will be the first step for a chain reaction. This area, which already has a spatial continuity with the amphitheatre, could be the first place to be renovated. After that, ‘Above the Dome’ can be removed and the 8th floor co-working spaces and the 7th floor can be connected with the amphitheatre.
