Renzo Piano Building Workshop’s landmark Istanbul Modern has opened to the public after a seven-year project to deliver a new home for Turkey’s first contemporary art museum.

The 10,500sq m building is on the site of Istanbul Modern’s original home on the Karaköy waterfront, where the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn meet. The museum moved to a temporary base in 2018 for construction to commence.

The design of the project, which is Piano’s first in Turkey, was inspired by the glittering waters of the Bosphorous and its reflections of light. The outline of the building is intended to evoke images of ships of different sizes travelling between Europe and Asia.

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