Gökhan Avcıoğlu

Celal Gökhan Avcıoğlu is a Turkish architect. He was born in Ankara, Turkey in 1960. He is the principal and founder of GAD in Istanbul, established in 1994. At GAD (Global Architectural Development), Avcıoğlu has completed a number of projects of varying function and size in Turkey and regionally.

Celal Gökhan Avcıoğlu
Celal Gökhan Avcıoğlu in his office
BornDecember 24, 1960
Ankara, Turkey
NationalityTurkish
EducationSelçuk University, Konya, Turkey
OccupationArchitect
Years active1985 - present
Notable work
  • Trump Cadde
  • One & Ortaköy
  • Beşiktaş Fish Market
  • Borusan Music and Art House
StyleContemporary
Websitewww.gadarchitecture.com

Early life and education

Celal Gökhan Avcıoğlu was born in Ankara, Turkey to Selahattin Avcıoğlu, a bureaucrat and Yücel Avcıoğlu, née Erkul, a housewife. He has one sister, Serihan Avcıoğlu, who is an economist. His parents met in the Hacettepe district of Ankara while his family's roots can be traced back to Istanbul and Albania on his father's side and Istanbul, Bosnia and Thessaloniki (Selanik) in the Balkans on his mother's. His father worked as a bureaucrat for the Turkish State Railways, (Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet Demiryolları), and the family often travelled throughout Turkey that included visits to archaeological sites such as the Greco-Roman city of Ephesus in the Mediterranean and Aegean coasts that became an inspiration for his interest in architecture. He went to high school in Istanbul at Boğaziçi Lisesi in Baltalimani from 1974-77 with his youth primarily spent in the Kuzguncuk district of Üsküdar on the Asian side of the city. During his time living in Kuzguncuk he was able to witness the construction of the Bosphorus Bridge in the adjacent district of Beylerbeyi that motivated his curiosity for structure and structural engineering. During his time as a high school student, his interest in art and architecture brought him to take classes in sculpture at Istanbul's Fine Arts Academy - İstanbul Devlet Güzel Sanatlar Akademesi now known as Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University. In construction he was influenced by the work of the many "Design Build" architects working as building contractors in Turkey in the 1970s including spending time as an intern on the construction sites of his uncle, the architect and construction contractor Tandoğan Erkul. Throughout his career Avcıoğlu in addition to his architectural practice would have key relationships with Turkey's contractors and builders seeking to advance economic and operational models for construction.

He was accepted to the İstanbul Develt Güzel Sanatlar Akademesi in 1977 and after briefly attending architecture school in Edirne, Turkey, he would instead go on to start and complete his education in architecture at Selçuk University in Konya at a distance from Istanbul. Part of the reason for his decision to pursue architectural education in Konya was that it was a relatively calmer setting in a tumultuous time in Turkish history that included the urban conflicts of the Political violence in Turkey (1976–1980) and the succeeding 1980 Turkish coup d'état. He eventually graduated with a professional degree in architecture in 1983 during an extended 7 year tenure. Towards the end of his architectural education he worked as an intern with Turkish modernist architect Cengiz Bektaş from 1981 to 1983 who was also based in Kuzguncuk, Istanbul, and later started a practice Mimarlik Hizmetleri Ltd from 1990-1994 with the architect Nevzat Sayın whom he had met during his time at the office of Bektaş. He was active in the milieu of architects and archaeologists in Bektaş's circle which prompted him to explore Central Anatolia in detail including Cappadoccia. Later he would go further east, intrepidly hitchhiking on his own through Turkey to the Iranian regions of Khorasan and Isfahan on the Silk Road ending up in Samerkand in Uzbekistan. The end of his student days was marked by his internship on the restoration project of the Uzbek Sufi Lodge in Üsküdar, Istanbul, where he worked closely with the traditional carpenter craftsman, Eyup usta, on the complete reconstruction of the historical timber Ottoman building financed in part by the Turkish-American businessman, Ahmet Ertegün. This experience with traditional building would also be a trajectory he would pursue in his professional practice.

Career

Avcıoğlu is the founder and has been the principal of Global Architectural Development (GAD) since 1994.[1] Avcıoğlu taught at the École Spéciale d'Architecture in Paris.[1] His projects include residences, office and hotel buildings, cultural, public and commercial spaces in Istanbul, Bodrum, New Jersey, New York City, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Connecticut, Libya, Beirut, Riyadh, and Kyiv.[1] He has offices in Istanbul, New York City, Bodrum and Dubai.ft.

Avcıoğlu is a member American Institute of Architects (AIA) New York Chapter, Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and the Chamber of Architects Turkey (TMMOB).

Notable projects
Beşiktaş Fish Market
  • Esma Sultan (2000)[2]
  • KUUM Hotel and Residences (2009)[3]
  • Beşiktaş Fish Market (2009)[4]
  • Borusan Music and Art House (2009)[5]
  • One & Ortaköy (2011)[6]
Close-up of the windows of One & Ortaköy
  • Rixos Eskişehir Spa and Thermal Hotel (2013)[7]
  • Serra Gate (2013)[8]
Serra Gate
  • Trump Cadde (2014)[9]

Awards
  • 1997 Turkish Architecture Prize for the design of the Kadikoy Public Park Facilities project in Istanbulft.
  • 2001 Çimsa Design Prize for outdoor seatingft.
  • 2003 Bronze Medal for the Borusan Exhibition Center, Miami Biennaleft.
  • 2010 European Commercial property awards, AUTOPIA, the architecture award mixed-useft.
  • 2011 World’s Best International Highrise Architecture for NLF Residences, International Property Awardsft.
  • 2011 Best Alternative Investments for the Borusan Music and Art House, ArkiPARCft.
  • 2011 International Architecture Award for the Borusan Music and Art House, Chicago Athenaeum and Europe Architecture Centreft.
  • 2012 International Architecture Award for Besiktas Fishmarket, The Chicago Athenaeumft.
  • 2012 Green Good Design Awards for One & Ortakoy, The European Centre for Architecture & The Chicago Athenaeum
  • 2012 Urban Regeneration and Master Planning Award for GDKP, MIPIM AR Future Project Awards
  • 2013 International Property awards Best Architecture Multiple Residence with Relux Suit Office TPST
  • 2013 International Property awards Best Architecture Multiple Residence and Mixed-Use Architecture for Russia
  • 2013 Green GOOD DESIGN Award with Eskisehir Spa&Thermal Hotel project
  • 2013 International Hotel Award, Best International Hotel Award with Maldives GA(D)AKOSHIBE
  • 2013 MIPIM Future Projects Awards winner for AUTOPIA
  • 2014 Archmarathon Crowd Award with Besiktas Fish Market
  • 2014 German Iconic Awards with Trump Cadde
  • 2014 European Property Awards with Trump Cadde, International Property Awards
  • 2015 Green Good Design with Trump Cadde
  • 2015 Green Good Design with MRTR Istanbul
  • 2015 Green Good Design with Divan Kurucesme

References
  1. "GAD Gokhan Avcioglu". Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  2. "Esma Sultan". Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  3. "KUUM Hotel and Residences". Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  4. "Beşiktaş Fish Market". Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  5. "Borusan Music and Art House". Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  6. "One & Ortaköy". Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  7. "Rixos Eskişehir Spa and Thermal Hotel". Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  8. "Serra Gate". Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  9. "Trump Cadde". Retrieved 9 July 2015.
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