Forum Istanbul shopping center is Europe’s largest shopping center. The shopping mall employs 5,000 people and houses some 280 national and international brands. It is expected to draw 20 million visitors annually.
Built on an area of 495,000 square meters in the Bayrampaşa district, Forum Istanbul comprises 175,000 square meters of leased area plus an IKEA store measuring 30,000 square meters and a Real supermarket covering about 15,500 square meters. The development will also include public spaces and parks where festivals, as well as cultural and sporting activities, will be organized.
Brand names such as Tepe Home, Saturn, Teknosa and Bimex will cover 11,500 square meters. The stores Boyner, YKM, C&A, M&S and Zara will also be included in the shopping mall, which will have a parking lot with room for 5,500 vehicles.
Forum Istanbul is home to a giant Ferris wheel that is as tall as the Bosphorus bridge, along with a bowling alley, restaurants, an IMAX movie theater, an ice-skating rink and playrooms for children.
The biggest attraction of this giant shopping center is Turkuazoo an aquarium housing 10,000 different species and constructed on 8,000 square meters of land. Turkey’s first large aquarium, Turkuazoo will also make Forum Istanbul one of the world’s first shopping centers to include an aquarium. Visitors will be able to walk through one of the world’s longest underwater tunnels, experiencing a 270-degree view that will allow them to feel at one with the sea creatures without having to put on a wetsuit and dive in.
Forum Istanbul is unique, adding a new dimension to the existing retail market in the region. The scheme offers a contemporary urban experience, interspersed with boulevards, piazzas, avenues, courtyards, and monumental buildings. The interplay of these elements produces streets with sweeping views, narrow lanes with shadow and contrasts of scale and public squares with different spatial qualities. An open area with spectacular landscape, it is suitable for festivals, concerts, markets and sports events. Signage, fountains, sculptures, and art will also be a part of the project.
Forum Istanbul had a spectacular opening show by laser-projecting the work of Turkey’s 15 top living artists across Istanbul’s iconic buildings. 25 giant Forum Istanbul Tulip logo balloons illuminated the skyline. Multi’s Marcel Kokkeel, Board member and Chairman Multi Mall Management and Levent Eyuboglu, MD Multi Turkmall, signaled the start to a spectacular evening of art projected onto the Topkapi Palace, Istanbul Train station, AKM in Taksim Square and other critical locations to hundreds of thousands of residents and tourists. Multi donated the show to the city of Istanbul and announced the opening on 17 November of Forum Istanbul – the largest shopping and excitement center in Europe.
Forum Istanbul will become an important landmark, attracting shoppers and visitors from all over Istanbul.
Address:
Forum Istanbul Shopping Center
Kocatepe Mahallesi, Paşa Caddesi, Bayrampaşa, 34045 Istanbul, Turkey
Phone: +90 212 443 1350