MAPACA

Mid-Atlantic Popular &
American Culture Association

The Weave in Bursa, Turkey is the first structure of its kind in the region: master-minded by architect Burak Pekoglu, a Turkish native and HGSD graduate, it combines complex geometry with local labor and building materials—Patara beige natural stone for the façade, from Burdur, and dark-red Aegean marble for the plinth, from the Aegean area—to make a bold aesthetic statement in the textile industry hub of Bursa, Yildirim: “A complex geometry can be scaled down to a buildable design. Right here! By us!” The most difficult yet most fascinating part of the 3-year project has been, according to Pekoglu, finding ways to translate the unique digital fabrication of the façade that resembles a weaving pattern to local use, where an artistic façade serves a dedicated function of access (hence, the carefully calculated window openings within the weave). But he quickly realized that before all else, he needed to adjust the architectural ideas to the local means of production: constantly negotiating, humanizing, simplifying the process, oftentimes remotely. Indeed, The Weave, at 4,500 sq. m., 3 stories, and a sprawling rooftop restaurant facing Uludag, is custom-made, like a sculpture, relying on the craftsmanship of local builders, not the precision of machines. Its sturdy yet graceful stone elements are shaped also by human hands, themselves consistently re-trained in the particularities of the design. And so, Pekoglu’s team became inventors of a new building style, unique to Bursa’s history, culture, production practices, and needs. Thus The Weave pays homage to the textile heritage of the region and to the meshing of local practices and standards, as well as to the forces that helped shape it into one coherent and visionary composition from theories of modern architecture to practical knowledge of local customs.