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Académie Léon

AN INTIMATE AND WARM ART GALLERY
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Project Details

Date: 15 November 2012

Online: www.academieleon.com

After graduating from Marmara University, Fine arts faculty, with a degree in sculpting and interior design- Sümer decided to open an art academy- Académie Léon where she could have her own creative space that she could simultaneously use as a teaching studio. For this project, Sümer transformed the space on the basement floor of the Suma Han building.
She began this process, by renting a dark unused storage depot, measuring 65m2 with 4m height- Sümer's challenge was to maximize the space for herself and her students and had to build an electric and water network that did not exist previously. You can see the completed work below and observe its transformation over the years.

When rennovation work begun, Sumer discovered 100 year old bricks underneath the walls and decided to utilize this as much as possible, she also added brick arches to the existing doorway to give a historic feel- she juxtaposed this with a 3m long, custom made, steel and glass door that let in a lot more light and gave the space a more industrial feel.

Copper and other metals were used for lighting and wiring in order to give the space a further industrial chic vibe- The light fixtures were designed to be movable and shine light in 360 degree angles in order to maximize places where people could work, therefore allowing maximum mobility within the studio along with interchangeability.

The height of the space was a great advantage and Sümer did not want to lose this. However she also needed to maximize the available space so she compromised on a asymmetrical design that allowed for a internal second floor and the stairs that led to it were designed to float in the space with no external support.

Académie Léon, was the first project that Sümer started in the Suma Han building and therefore constituted the first leg of the renovation and restoration of the available spaces. The following pictures shows condition of the studio prior to its renovation.

Edit: Académie Léon, stopped functioning as an atelier in August 2015. The space has been rented to another creative office. Yet the new tenants preferred to keep the décor as it is.

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