ISTANBUL: Istanbul’s museum of modern art moved on Tuesday into a futuristic building overlooking the Bosphorus Strait designed by the Italian-born architect of London’s Shard skyscraper and the Pompidou Centre in Paris.

The museum’s return to its old but reinvented location marks the latest attempt by Turkiye’s cultural capital to infuse its iconic waterfront — lined with graceful imperial palaces and mosques — with a more futuristic feel.

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-storey 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.

Its design was inspired by the glittering waters and light reflections of the Bosphorus, architect Renzo Piano told reporters.

“This museum building is like a creature of the sea that has jumped out from the waters of the Bosphorus,” said Piano, whose other works include the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.

“Every time you have water, it is great to make a building because water makes things beautiful,” he said.

Published in Dawn, June 21st, 2023