Bilkent English Language Preparation Program building is located adjacent to a high school building at the East Campus of the University. Due to its location away from the main campus, the building is designed with respect to neighboring structures, in order to provide interior and exterior spaces of common use for both students and faculty. Along the main road, the building front follows the alignment defined by its neighbors; while on the other side, the L form building mass branches out to define a generous courtyard which opens to the high school building. The four storey structure is connected to the courtyard at split levels to enhance views and encourage outdoor space use from a compact building mass.
Faculty rooms are lined parallel to the main road and classrooms on the perpendicular wing. Entrance on the main road corresponds to the inner corner on the courtyard side, carefully located at where two masses diverge. The entrance hall extends to upper floors as a node in each floor’s circulation, creating a visual bridge that the main road to the courtyard through transparent surfaces. Private faculty rooms along the main road have panoramic city views, which they enjoy through common balconies. Communal spaces of faculty members face the courtyard, whose westerly direction necessitates reduced glazing area. Classroom wing has a central hallway on each floor which serves classrooms on two sides, which are again connected with common balconies from the outside. Split level positioning of the courtyard enables the canteen area at the lowest floor to have direct access to the outside environment.
The building is wrapped underneath a pitched roof with extended eaves. This conventional element is interpreted in an unconventional shell-like fashion, in which the roof and building façades are unified through balcony frames extending further away from main building mass as they approach upper floors. Sun shading elements and balustrades enhance their vertical definition, further accentuating visual unity between balcony frames and roof plates.
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