Ziraat Bank

Ziraat, Turkey’s oldest and largest bank, is government owned, but operates as a global private bank. Relocation to the Istanbul International Financial Centre is part of the bank’s outward-looking strategy. The new HQ will accommodate 4,000 staff from six buildings in Ankara and two in Istanbul.

The KKS strategic team worked with KPF on the base build and occupier strategy: the KKS design team continued with the interior design of the executive floors, restaurant area and IT space.

Ziraat’s HQ is intended to express the bank’s vision, but also illustrate its cultural roots. The building form and its facade are inspired by Ottoman symbols and geometrical motifs, in particular the Sultan’ calligraphic Tugra seal.

KKS re-articulated these exterior elements to create a coherent, bespoke interior to the building, interpreted through local materials and design cues. Back-lit onyx, and a polished marble floor, leading to a welcoming elliptical travertine reception desk, convey a sense of arrival at the executive floor lift lobby. Curved partitions in timber and brass fins suggest movement through the space, off which board level office interiors are more linear and mannered.

The journey to the General Manager’s 500 sqm office area concludes in a grand uncluttered space. The open volume is lit by a skylight at the top of spiral interconnecting stairs to the boardroom, in softer wall fabrics and carpet.