Tabanlıoğlu Architects explores the ambiguous question of where we belong. HousEmotion looks like a house, but is it a home?

Tabanlıoğlu Architects’ installation considers the emotional meaning of home in an age of increasingly transient living. “There is a variety of perceptions of what home really is today,” the practice says. “The question ‘Where are you from?’ prompts myriad answers. The meaning of home for a person may simply be a smartphone with a full memory.” Or it may be something more fundamental to our sense of self – Tabanlıoğlu also reference the psychoanalyst DW Winnicott and his groundbreaking work on childhood development, Home is Where We Start From.

Tabanlıoğlu’s pavilion starts with the most elemental idea of a house: a cubic form. This is created using a series of white rods, a simple border demarcating the limits of the home. The gaps between the rods lend a semi-transparency to the structure, drawing visitors in but also allowing the home to dissolve into the wider environment. The walls, perhaps even the home itself, are seen to be illusory.

Once visitors step inside the structure, it again takes on the homely role of a shelter. A divan is placed in the heart of the space, which Tabanlıoğlu describe as being “like a mother’s lap”. It is a place where visitors will want to spend time, relax and meet new people. At night, lights embedded in the rods will turn the structure into a glowing lantern, or perhaps a warm hearth.

About Tabanlıoğlu Architects
Tabanlıoğlu Architects is established in 1990 by Murat Tabanlıoğlu and his father Hayati Tabanlıoğlu, and Melkan Gürsel (AIA Int.) joined the group as partner in 1995. Istanbul-based architectural firm, with its long family tradition, started with Dr. Hayati Tabanlıoğlu since 1950’s. Spanning over six decades, the office demonstrates a professionalism based on rigor and know-how.

Tabanlıoğlu Architects develop innovative, efficient and economically viable design solutions for residential buildings, offices, industrial facilities, shopping malls and transformation projects. The practice is currently engaged in major assignments worldwide with offices in Dubai, Doha and London with more than 200 employees. Tabanlıoğlu projects have been received various awards including RIBA International in 2011 and 2013.