Futura armchairs by LAMM for the multi-purpose Municipal Theatre set up in Kadıköy, Turkey
The set-up of the new theatre hall with 318 Futura seats mounted on two telescopic stands facing each other, has been successfully completed in the residential area that has developed along Istanbul’s Asian coastline.
The project, which is the result of a long and complex consultation between authorities, artists, consultants and architects, bears the signature of Bingöl Barka Architecture & Consultancy. It started in 2016 with the desire to provide the citizens of Kadıköy, a municipality in the metropolitan city of Istanbul, with a contemporary cultural facility featuring a multi-purpose theatre hall (located on the first floor – there are four levels in total, one of which is underground), capable of adapting to all kinds of needs, contemplating different relationships between space, audience and actors. Thanks to its solid shell, the building can be seen as an artefact that resists the effects of time on the outside while changing over time on the inside.
The flexibility of the interior design was made possible by the systems supplied by LAMM: telescopic grandstands and armchairs chosen specifically to accommodate the need to quickly remodel the space whenever appropriate. A total of 318 seats from the Futura series were supplied, arranged in two facing telescopic stands, one consisting of 9 rows of 22 seats for a total of 198 seats, and the other of 6 rows of 20 seats for a total of 120 seats. All seats have a wheelbase of 54 cm and were chosen in the version with the seat and backrest in black faux leather and polyurethane armrests in the same colour featuring the seat and row numbers. The metal structures that attach them to the respective stands are also painted black with epoxy-polyester powders with a scratch-resistant finish.
The seat and backrest open and close synchronously thanks to a gravity device. In particular, the closure, cushioned by a special dumper concealed inside the die-cast aluminium side panel, is extremely silent. The entire room can be remodelled in just a few minutes using a fully automated system which includes the tilting of the chairs (from a horizontal to an upright position) by means of gas shock absorbers.
The Kadiköy Theatre has been awarded the Işıklar Brick Awards 2021 by the brick manufacturer of the same name, which rewards architecture and interior design characterised by the use of exposed brick. It is also mentioned in Turkey’s Architecture Yearbook 2020 (Türkiye Mimarlık Yıllığı 2020) which, each year, selects the country’s most prestigious achievements.
Project Alan Kadıköy / Kadiköy Theatre
Location Kadıköy (Istanbul), Turkey
Client Kadıköy Municipality
Year of completion 2020
Architectural design Bingöl Barka Architecture & Consultancy
Local dealer Koc Mobilya, Istanbul
Consulting Aksu/Suardi, Milan
LAMM Supply 318 Futura armchairs
2 telescopic grandstands
Photos: Cemal Emden Photographer