Vedat Dalokay Wedding and Cocktail Hall was built in 1993. From 199 to now, the building has been used as wedding and cocktail hall. The location of the structure is in the center of the city, Kurtuluş Park in Ankara. The structure was designed by Affan Yatman and Nesrin Yatman.
Vedat Dalokay is architect who graduated from İstanbul Technical University in 1949. Because of his contribution in Ankara, his name was given to the structure. After graduation, he founded his own architecture offices in Ankara while working at Ankara Mimarlar Odası. In 1973, he was chosen as mayor of the Ankara. In this period, in between 1973-1977, he had undertaken significant work for Ankara. Altınpark, Abdi İpekçi Park, Kuğulu Park, and Seğmenler Park were designed in this period. These parks are the most important green areas for Ankara to breathe. For this reason, it is not surprising for me that Vedat Dalokay Wedding and Cocktail Hall has a beautiful scene looking at green area.
While walking towards to Vedat Dalokay Wedding and Cocktail Hall, you are also walking towards to a green area. Firstly, you are experiencing Kurtuluş Park before experiencing Vedat Dalokay Wedding and Cocktail Hall. Kurtuluş Park is one of important and big parks in center of the city, which is surrounding with huge trees. It is like a boundary between noise of the city and peace of the city. I understand that this peaceful atmosphere can be felt inside of the Vedat Dalokay Wedding and Cocktail Hall.
While you are experiencing peaceful atmosphere among threes, you come across entrance of the structure. You know entrance of the structure because of orientation of the structure and monumentality of the structure. Around of the structure, there are little gardens, which are like in-between spaces for Kurtuluş Park and structure. There are two entrances for wedding hall. The first entrance is facing towards street; the second entrance is facing toward park. Entrances also supported with ramps. When you enter the door, you are in reception area that is full transparent to the outside of the structure. Guests from wedding may feel like s/he is in park. Reception area divided into three parts and there is only visual connection among areas. In the middle one is for the guests who coming wedding ceremonies, the others are for guest who leaving from wedding hall. When you enter the wedding hall, the first thing you see is wedding table. In the middle of the hall, there is a way ends with wedding table. The left and right side of the way, there are seats for guests. The wedding hall is symmetrical which supported with ramps. Ramps are for bride and groom to enter the wedding hall.
The building is not usual. The form of the building, the location of the building, the structure of the building are untypical even thought its period. The building is carried by columns that placed in outside of the building. There is not any column inside of the building. The other spaces of the building have a view that is full of green. The windows are like a frame of the green. It has fragmented form, which adopted green area. Circular form and triangular form were used.
As a result, the structure has unique form around huge trees. It has beautiful scenery, which was made of full of green area. While entering the structure, you gradually move away from green area and you can feel green area inside of the structure.
The first assignment after the designing logo was analysis and synthesis which both includes objective and subjective qualities of the given areas. We were expected to build up a “problem definition” for the design task our office “dem architects” is given with the scenario “University Housing”.
senakocakaya 