Istanbul Modern welcomes its architect

Istanbul's museum of modern art, Istanbul Modern, moved on May 4 into a new building overlooking the Bosphorus Strait, designed by Renzo Piano, the Italian-born architect of London's Shard skyscraper and the Pompidou Center in Paris.

Established in 2004, the Istanbul Modern in 2018 moved out of a rustic building that once served as a customs warehouse.

The city then launched a massive regeneration project that rebuilt a long stretch of the European side of the Bosphorus shoreline, making it more accessible to both Istanbulites and cruise ships that again clutter the busy strait.

The museum's new three-story reflective steel building, featuring a transparent ground floor made of reinforced glass, is connected to the new Galata Port - a sleek amalgam of restaurants, bars and retail stores overlooking a waterfront boardwalk.

At a press conference held on June 20, Istanbul Modern CEO Oya Eczacıbaşı emphasized that the redesigned museum building has been planned with a visitor-oriented approach to allow all kinds of cultural, artistic and educational activities.

"Renzo Piano, as one of the most important names in museum architecture, shared our dreams of establishing a museum building in Istanbul that will attract the attention of international art circles and reflect the value of this unique city. We met with him for the first time in September 2014, at his office in Genoa. We were happy to see that he was as excited as we were when we talked about our dreams for the future of Istanbul Modern."

Stating that a brand new era has begun for Istanbul Modern with the new museum building, Eczacıbaşı continued:

"As we begin our journey in our new museum building, our responsibility towards both the art world and our visitors...