Big plans are underway for Turkey’s bustling, historic city of İstanbul, where renovations are currently in progress to expand the Atatürk Cultural Center. Also known as AKM, the updated complex will house the city’s new 2,500-seat, spherical Opera House, which will serve as a multi-venue performing arts center. While the top of the opera house will feature a restaurant with wide views of the Bosporus Strait, the center will also provide a home for several exhibition halls, art galleries, multiple modern meeting spaces, cafés, cinemas and theater stages — projected for completion in 2019.

The renovation marks the third reincarnation of the AKM, offering a heady melding of the city’s Eastern and Western cultures. Occupying five blocks in the cultural area next to Taksim Square, it will offer more than 1,105,800 square feet of enclosed interior space with enhanced technical components and structural enhancement.

Murat Tabanlioglu serves as the project’s chief architect. Tabanlioglu’s other international credits include the Dubai Design District, New National Stadium Japan, the Hotel Rixos Libertas in Dubrovnik, Croatia, Qatar RFS Tower in Doha, and the Marrakech Congress Center. Domestic projects include Istanbul Modern, Bodurm Milas International Airport and the Four Seasons Alacati.