Develi as a suburb locates at a very strategic location for a regional development center. On one hand, Kayseri’s industrial richness and on the other hand fertile lands of villages of Develi. Moreover, development is not only about agriculture and industry but the region has touristic value thanks to Sultan Sazlığı National Park. Location of the project is in the middle of this richness, at the turn to Sindelhoyuk village which is the biggest village of Develi where villagers are still working at their fields.
Regional Development Center (RDC) is the starting point of touristic line that goes towards Sultan Sazlığı National Park. The line includes hotel at the center of Sindelhoyuk, Wildlife Conservation Center nearby the village and at the end, Reed Research and Development Center. The Touristic Line of Sultan Sazlığı aims to revive touristic activity as a part of regional development strategies.
RDC takes its inspiration from constant change of the agriculture lands in the summer and in the winter. While in the summer the lands are green and alive, in the winter the fields are left and soil brown. Reflection of this behavior is visible on the façade of RDC that in the summer it is green and, in the winter, it is soil brown.
Ratios and the material selections are inspired from villages of Develi where people use 4x8 structural ratio because of limitations of the material so, in the design process of RDC the same structural material is used, in the bazaar area, where the ratio is the same. So, the parameter was to have 4x4 ratios and coding the building program accordingly. Moreover, in the villages, adobe is used and as main material as abstraction of adobe, pre-cast rammed earth walls are used. Height of rammed earth blocks are kept maximum 4 meters because of logistic limitations. In the office building, 3-storey, steel support beams are connected to the green support elements. These vertical elements have two missions: one is keeping the rammed earth wall system stand and second is carrying vertical garden meshes. First plantation is made on the ground where meshes can easily be on the ground. After plants come to the good situation, meshes are inserted into the vertical rails and taken to the upper floors where ever wanted.
Rammed earth walls with structural system integration has a skeleton system inside. Locations of the holes that hezens are inserted is calculated very carefully and the system is produced in the factory. Only integration is done on-site. In addition, because the building is designed arable, roofs can be planted either.
