Exploding the Rules

Driving through Bodrum  and up the switchback roads through the hills that lead to the Exploded House, owner and resident Vedat Semiz is in a good mood as he describes the building project, which was completed in 2001 and has become a major point of interest in Turkey.   Bodrum  has long held the title of being one of the premier holiday destinations in Turkey, for both Turks and tourists from overseas. The Aegean port city’s natural environment, with its forests of trees, flowers and rolling hills, is a welcome relief from the intense urban sprawl of Istanbul and Ankara.   The fact that  building restrictions have been put in place to protect Bodrum from overdevelopment is reassuring. All new developments are restricted to a maximum size of 75 square metres, to ensure the forested areas surrounding the city are preserved.   The Exploded House defies those laws. An architectural feat, the building’s deconstructed structure is an ingenious solution to Bodrum’s building restrictions. It bend the rules, without sacrificing the local environment. The project is the result of a long-term fascination with Bodrum and the creative cunning of Semiz. A former businessman and now in his sixties, Semiz shares his memories of travelling to Bodrum from Istanbul in the 1970s, before the peninsula became an international holiday hotspot. During this time, select artists, intellectuals and members of the political class would escape to Bodrum to relax along what is known as the Turkish Riviera, a collection of blue water bays, beaches, boutique hotels and restaurants.   By the mid 90s, Semiz’s love for Bodrum has solidified; he opened the Ada Hotel located in the local village of Turkbuku. At first, his family would use the 14 room boutique hotel as a glorified home-away-from-home while visiting from Istanbul, but as more tourists flocked to Bodrum and the hotel rose in popularity, the priority and focus was given to paying guests.   In the late 1990s, Semiz decided to build a house on a plot of land he owned near the hotel, on a grassy hill that overlooks the village and a nearby bay. The plot, where the Exploded House now stands, is an easy 15 minute drive from the city centre, above Turkbuku and surrounded by nature.   Semiz's checklist for the property was clear: it must be spacious enough to host parties, to accommodate his family, as well as house part of his vast collection of antiquities, amassed during 35 years of travelling. Building such a large house was not possible under the current construction codes. But by ‘exploding’ the house into different buildings, Semiz found a detour to help him design the home of his dreams. ‘I had the concept. I was lucky to find the right interior designer and the right architect,’ he explains. ‘I needed the space to protect the collection and it was a good meeting point for family and work.’   The house can easily accommodate four people. There is a master bedroom, study, guest room, living room, kitchen, and dining area. While this area is far larger than construction laws allow, the separation of the buildings means it technically bypasses the law. With the exception of the guest room, which is located across the swimming pool, the individual edifices are connected by a glass vestibule, but are technically considered to stand alone.   The house is the only one of its kind in Bodrum. Traditionally, houses in Bodrum are made from brick and use shutters to shield the intense light reflecting off the water. They are almost always built close enough together to create shade in the alleyways between houses. Their exteriors are painted white to project a uniformity that does not distract from the surrounding environment.   The Exploded House is different, more contemporary, Semiz says. While the exterior is stone, the interior uses flat concrete, which is low maintenance. Expansive glass windows come down at the touch of a remote to turn the living room into a shaded balcony that looks out over the hills and water. Rainwater is collected on the flat roof to provide cooling for the house, an aesthetic and inventive touch.   While the house may play with the local restrictions on construction, the design respectfully coexists with the surrounding landscape. The contours of the house follow the terrain and no trees were felled during the construction, nor were any non-native plants introduced. ‘We did not even move the big rocks from their original places,’ Semiz explains, who, after years living the fast-paced life of an international businessman in the industrial chemical sector, rejects modern day extravagance and consumerism. It is this philosophy of purposeful living coupled with style and an appreciation for great beauty that makes the Exploded House such a successful project. ‘Today what [mainstream society] are doing all around… is really silly,’ Semiz says. ‘It's pure consumerism. I don't like it. The nature needs respect.’   Semiz's vast antiques collection is carefully spread around the rooms of the Exploded House. But this is no museum. Instead, the collection is displayed in a contemporary fashion that allows it to be both admired and considered in a comfortable way. There’s a 14th century dark brown wood table from France, World War I pistols, Byzantine bowls, Arabic calligraphy from the Ottoman period, a recently designed chair made from an Indonesian teak tree and a flag from the Turkish War of Independence, all gracing the house’s rooms.   Turkish architect Gokhan Avcioglu of Global Architecture Development (GAD) and Turkish interior designer Hakan Ezer worked with Semiz to realise the project. Ezer previously worked with Semiz on the Ada Hotel and as interior designer wanted to create a spartan, Bauhaus-like atmosphere in the house, capturing a sense of ‘inside, outside’ for the home. The windows were designed to descend fully, ‘so the residents would be inside in the shade and enjoy the outside,’ Ezer says. Special textiles were used for the curtains so they would fly around ‘like calligraphy.’ ‘It is very simple, you don't feel the design at all. You just feel the texture,’ he says.   ‘I always try to give a very natural life, a very real life to the people [I work for],’ Ezer explains. ‘I think it is quite a nice place to have parties and to seek nature. To be in nature and to feel the nature and changing light all around you.’   Photography: Justin Vela