Turkey’s Treasury Building Turns Out To Be Defective And Being Evacuated – OpEd
The Turkish Treasury Building, located on Eskişehir Road, is being revealed as structurally unsound, necessitating the evacuation of its personnel. This revelation has raised concerns about the earthquake resistance of this skyscraper.
The original architectural design for this project, created by Architect Doğan Tekeli, was initially utilized for the first Halk Bank building. Towards the end of construction, the Ministry of Treasury took over the building, covering the cost as a “capital contribution” on behalf of Halk Bank. Following this, Halk Bank slightly modified the same project to construct a second building on Eskişehir Road. Interestingly, Russian Gazprom officials, during a visit to Turkey, expressed their admiration for the building and the project. Subsequently, they implemented a similar project with slight alterations for their headquarters in Moscow.
I have personally attended a meeting in the Gazprom building in Moscow, and it was evident that it was essentially the same project with minimal changes. It is quite perplexing to consider that a design flaw could persist in a project that has been executed three times. If the structural issue exists in this building, it should also be present in the other “replica” buildings.
However, if the problem is unrelated to the alleged “riverbed” beneath the ground, it raises skepticism about the operation.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building was originally constructed as a bank building resembling TSKB. It was later designated for use by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This Treasury building has undergone multiple reinforcement efforts by the contractor to address its structural concerns.
With the Ataşehir financial center’s buildings remaining largely vacant, plans for a mandatory relocation have emerged. The Turkish Treasury is expected to move into the Central Bank’s building, which, in turn, will relocate to Istanbul.