Abandoned Buildings of Istanbul – Data Gathering – Diamond of Istanbul

The Diamond of Istanbul

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According to the Wikipedia, the Diamond of Istanbul is the tallest building under construction in Istanbul. The article states that the building will rise 63 floors above ground and reach 311 meters. It also specifies that the functional programme includes a 5 star Hotel (48 floors) with two panoramic restaurants, in one wing-tower, offices in another and retail facilities at the bottom, comprising a total area of construction of some 14.000m2.

The reality nowadays is quite different. What we can observe today is a roting body of concrete and steel, surrounded by rusted cranes no longer in use. What was going to be one of the new icons of Istanbul is just a leftover of something that never happened.

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When the project was launched by the owner company it had the slogan of being the “Eiffel Tower of Istanbul”, comparing the building to the iconic structure built in Paris in 1889. It should be said that unlike that historical ground breaking building, the Diamond has none of the qualities that makes it standout from contemporary high-rises. Neither in its structural or design ambitions.

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The first issues came with a footprint problem. It seems that the setbacks from the adjacent buildings were not respected. Then problems with the height and the silhouette of the building were raised by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB). In the beginning of the 2000’s, the IBB started to show concerns about the skyline of Istanbul and the visual balance between the historical and the modern city. Also the perception from the Bosphorus and the Asian side was problematic. Although many other highrise projects popped out here and there randomly, the IBB and other committees did not accept the several revisions proposed by the project owner, the Hattat Holding.

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Since the construction started in 2002 there were multiple court cases trying to block and unblock the projects future.The last one of them by the end of 2019. It involved the Municipality, Ministries and even Presidential decrees but no solution has been found yet. The height of the project was redefined several times, first to 53 floors, after to 44 levels, instead of the initial 63, but still today the future of the project seems uncertain.

The project is located in the financial district of Maslak, an area under development for several decades to create a new business hub on the European side of Istanbul, complementing other more centric and congested neighborhoods. Another common critique made about the Diamond project was the considerable pressure it would generate by bringing so many extra cars and population in a single building to Maslak.

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For the last 18 years and until now, the Diamond it is still another Abandoned Building of Istanbul. As many other similar cases, it represents how heavy bureaucracy and lack of planning can lead to the deterioration of the city landscape and subsequent loss of quality of urban life for its citizens.

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The set of articles under the name “Abandoned Buildings of Istanbul – Data Gathering” being prepared and shared by ARKollective, aim to raise awareness over a very common phenomenon happening in Istanbul and in many major cities around the world. To read more about large abandoned buildings in Istanbul and ideas that might change their condition, please check our previous posts:

Abandoned buildings of Istanbul – Data Gathering – The Bostanci AVM

Abandoned Buildings of Istanbul – Data Gathering – The GPIH

The Life of Abandoned Buildings