Octopus

Octopus reimagines the fuel tanks on Istanbul’s Çubuklu waterfront as an alternative fashion institute. The industrial cylinders are retained and adapted for teaching, research and exhibitions, while new connections between them open the site to a shared culture of making.

The proposal begins with the relationship between fashion, the body and architectural space. As clothing wraps the body, architecture shapes its surroundings. This relationship informs an envelope that wraps around and connects the existing tanks.

Connecting The Tanks

The new geometry develops from the circular footprints of the tanks and their tangents. Curved steel members support a transparent and translucent envelope, bringing separate volumes together while keeping the industrial character legible. Galleries, bridges and central vertical circulation link spaces at different levels.

Teaching, Research And Exhibition

The institute proposes a programme in which fashion designers, students, researchers and teams working with robotic fabrication can experiment together. Teaching and research remain closely connected. The inward-looking tank interiors accommodate workshops and exhibitions requiring concentration and controlled light; shared spaces between them encourage exchange.

The rising landscape enters the building at selected points to form stepped amphitheatres. These spaces combine presentations, making and informal rest. The Bosphorus setting informs views along circulation routes and openings at the upper levels.