Diamond of Istanbul


Diamond of Istanbul is the tallest building under construction in Istanbul, Turkey, being built on the Büyükdere Avenue in the city's Maslak central business district of Şişli. It is also the country's first steel skyscraper. When completed, it will rise 63 floors above ground level and reach an above-ground height of 311 meters; thus surpassing the current tallest skyscraper in Istanbul, the 302m Istanbul Sapphire in Levent.
Its design, by Dome Architecture of Istanbul, comprises three steel wings connected to the central elevator core. The three wings will house a luxury hotel, A-class offices, and rental skyscraper apartments The tallest of the three wings will have an overall total of 63 floors above ground, and reach an overall structural height of 311m from street level. The steel wings rise from the common podium of a shopping mall comprising five floors - three above-ground and two below. The complex also has a five-floor parking garage situated in the bottom-most basement floors of the building
The panoramic restaurant on the top-most floor will be at one of the tallest man-made points in Istanbul and Turkey.

Construction work

The construction of the project began in February 2002 with the start of demolition of an old nine-floor office building on the plot. The tower's steel beams began assembly in 2006.
The total area of the construction site comprises around 14,000 m².
Due to the space limitations around the construction site - the site is situated on one of the busiest transport arteries of Istanbul, Buyukdere Avenue - and to minimize the impact of construction activities on the traffic, all concrete pouring activities using concrete mixer trucks are performed at night.
As of April 2012, the project is on hold.
The companies involved in the development and construction of the project are: