VitrA Çağdaş Mimarlık Dizisi - Arkitera

500-boat capacity marina, separated from the residential district by a highway, is designed
as a center encouraging sailing tourism at the local scale and a green recreation
center at the urban scale. Besides providing logistic support for the sailors, the marina
is intended to serve the local inhabitants with its shopping and restaurant facilities as
well as green recreation areas. The architectural plan included open spaces in the areas
outside the buildings, with landscape elements especially on the coast side of the facility.
The building mass and the shopping arcade welcome pedestrians at the entrance
direct the users to the main square. The roofs and the eaves that surround the masses
like a shell are the most striking feature of the project.
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Mersin Marina, being the biggest investment of recent years on the east of Antalya
among other facilities such as Alanya Marina, Finike Marina and Mersin Yacht Basin, is
aimed to expand yacht tourism to all shores of Mediterrenean region. Mersin Marina did
not only boost the life in the area, but it also claims to be an important yacht centre in
the East Mediterrenean basin.
The disadvantages of the geographic conditions of the East Mediterrenean, not having
protected bays, makes it necessary to build costly breakwaters. Moreover, the capacity
to run these facilities that are constructed by build-operate-transfer model is missing
in the area and operators are yet to be found even long after the construction is completed.
While different solutions are being searched for the problems of investment and
running in the area, Mersin Marina interpreted small service units such as markets and
cafes included in marinas as shopping centres; bringing an extraordinary approach to
newly emerging marina types.
Having the capacity of 1,000 boats both on the sea and on the ground, Mersin Marina
is the biggest marina in Turkey. It has three different and independent units composed
of 500 slipways, 10,500 m 2 shopping centre including 61 shops, cafes, restaurants and
playgrounds, and a yacht club and sports complex as Mersin Marina aims to offer service
to local users as well as yachters.
The shopping centre has an arcaded, open plan scheme in order not to interrupt the
sea breeze, and is covered with a concrete shell which protects the urban street from
extreme heat and rain. Apart from this, Mersin Marina has an amphitheatre with a
capa-city of 2,000 people. With the help of these facilities, Mersin Marina seems to be
successful in drawing the social and cultural life condensed in the center towards the
sea side.
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