Istanbul Sapphire, or Sapphire, is a skyscraper, and as of 2011, the tallest building in Istanbul and Turkey, located in the central business district of Levent. It will relegate to the second spot upon the completion of the Diamond of Istanbul triple towers, located in the nearby central business district of Maslak. It is the country's first ecological skyscraper. Sapphire rises 54 floors above ground level, and boasts an above-ground roof height of 238 meters (the building has an overall structural height of 261 meters including its spire, which is part of the design and not a radio antenna.) It is a shopping and luxury residence mixed-use project by Biskon Construction (a subsidiary of the Kiler Group of Companies.)
Istanbul Sapphire has been designed by Tabanlıoğlu Architecture as a high-tech structure that consists of 64 floors (54 above-ground and 10 basement floors), communal living floors, extensive parking spaces, a large shopping mall, and 47 floors for residences.
There will be specialized floors which have private gardens between every 3 floors, and every 9 floors are separated from each other by a communal living area or mechanical floors. Design of the gardens are proposed with a number of alternatives and the consistency of garden maintenance is under the residence management company’s responsibility.
Sapphire is the first ecological building of Turkey, having two special glass shells which can take the outside air naturally by holes located at every 3 floors. Thanks to this system, the inhabitants of the building will not be affected by the negative weather conditions and external urban noise, in addition to providing a buffer with the outside atmosphere and the internal facilities. Absorption of the sunlight and ultraviolet beams will be ensured by a special curtain system that's automatically controlled through a computer, depending on the season, day and hour.
The foundation pit excavated for the project – 42.5 meters deep – is the deepest foundation pit excavated for any structure in Turkey.
