Der Komplex der Sozialversicherungsanstalt (SSK) in Zeyrek

The public buildings complex designed by Sedad Hakkı Eldem for the Social Insurance Institution (SSK) in 1962 was completed in 1964 and awarded the Aga Khan Architecture Award in 1986. The Zeyrek Social Insurance building group was designed after being selected in a limited competition. The buildings of varying sizes were designed on a sloping terrain to avoid disrupting the surrounding landscape and, above all, to be in harmony with the identity of the neighborhood behind them. Designed in a Brutalist style, the building is also designed in the style of traditional Ottoman architecture. This preference is reflected in the window elements and the projecting form of the building masses.