November 8, 2016 – Tabanlıoğlu Architects has been selected to design the Collectors Lounge at the twelfth edition of Design Miami/, taking place from November 30th – December 4th, 2016. Based in Istanbul, Turkey, Tabanlioglu aims to bring the essence of tropical Miami into the lounge which is a central feature in this prestigious international design event. Entitled The Flamingo Lounge, to reflect the single candy pink colour that will be used throughout, this 100m² space, will be open for the duration of the Fair to host the most influential collectors, gallerists, designers and curators.

The aesthetic for the Flamingo Lounge is inspired by a number of diverse sources, from the flamboyant panache of cult filmmaker John Waters, to the utilitarian minimalism of Mies van der Rohe and the colourful liquidity of Gaetano Pesce. In addition, the architects have called on their own perception of Miami style and culture and brought this into the design giving it a playful yet severely abstract feel.

A single material and colour has been used throughout the space with the floor and the furniture all cast in the same candy pink resin, so that the space appears to be carved out of a solid, yet apparently liquid block. The long rectangular space is broken up into zones, each represented by a separate piece of furniture that also doubles as an archetypal symbol, evoking primitive geometric characters with a language that goes beyond their pure function, conveying multiple levels of meaning for each visitor.

Principals Melkan Gursel and Murat Tabanlioglu commented on the design:

Melkan Gursel said:
As Tabanlioglu Architects, we have recently opened our branch office in NY. Taking a step forward to establish our presence in the US we are now in Miami as arts and design is a part of our personal lives and architectural practice. Designing Collectors Lounge has been a challenge and an opportunity to express our approach in design and architecture; rooted in the modernist tradition. Our perception of Miami and its style, including the fragments of Hollywood, of course especially of Miami Vice of our very young ages, is within the design.

Murat Tabanlioglu said:
For the design of Lounge our main consideration has been the proportions and spatial qualities of the space as well as the environmental data of Miami, Florida and the USA. The pieces of furniture are stripped to their bare minimum, existing as abstract, primitive geometries. They attempt to function not only as utilitarian objects but also as symbols and archetypes that are a means of complex communication with multiple levels of meaning.

Murat Tabanlioglu and Melkan Gursel, will also participate in the Design Talks Programme.

About the Tabanlıoğlu Partners:
Murat Tabanlıoğlu (RIBA, Chartered Member, Int'l. Assoc. AIA, graduated TU Vienna 1992) is the founder of Tabanlıoğlu Architects established in 1990 together with Dr. Hayati Tabanlıoğlu. He conducts atelier programs at several Universities, lectures at international platforms, contributes as a jury member at national and international programs such as at AIA and WAF, he served on the Master Jury for the 2013 Cycle of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. In 2014 he has been granted with the honor of curating the first Pavilion of Turkey at the 14th International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale. He has been the curator of “Port City Talks. Istanbul. Antwerp.” exhibition at MAS Antwerp as the major event of Europalia 2015 Turkey. He is the curator of the ‘BELOVED” project part of LDF 2016 exhibited at the V&A London.

Melkan Gürsel (AIA Int., graduated ITU 1993, attended Polytechnic University of Metropolitan Catalonia for MA) joined the group as partner in 1995. She has been selected as one of the “Europe 40 under 40” for 2008 and as “Fifty under Fifty: Innovators of the 21st Century”, in 2015.  In 2010, together with Murat Tabanlıoğlu, Melkan selected as “Architect of the Year” by Big Project Middle East Awards.  She lectures at various national and international platforms and serves as jury member at several programs, one of her latest contribution being RIBA Annie Spink Award for Excellence in Architectural Education.  She has co-curated an exhibition at London Design Festival 2015 with French artist Arik Levy. She is the designer of the installation, ‘BELOVED”, exhibited at the V&A as part of LDF 2016 in London. She designed the installation as part of “Istanbul Light Exhibition” in collaboration with Aqua Creations.