Çamlıca Tower, located on Küçük Çamlıca Hill in the Üsküdar district of Istanbul, is the tallest structure in Türkiye and serves as a television and radio broadcasting tower. The project, carried out by the General Directorate of Infrastructure Investments under the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, was developed based on the design selected in a competition held in 2011 by Melike Altınışık and was inaugurated on May 29, 2021.

^{The View of Çamlıca Tower from the Bosphorus in Istanbul (unsplash)}

Construction Process

Project development works were carried out between 2013 and 2016, the contract was signed on March 26, 2015, and the construction phase began on June 1, 2016. Implemented by Sarıdağlar İnşaat AŞ, the project was built on a foundation with a diameter of 58 meters and a depth of 21 meters, where a 203-meter-high reinforced concrete core was constructed using the slipform method. On top of the core, a steel antenna weighing approximately 1,000 tons was installed, bringing the total height to 369 meters.

For the façade cladding, more than 2,500 glass fiber–reinforced concrete panels of varying sizes were used, and wind tunnel tests were conducted before installation. The structural construction was completed in 2019, the broadcasting infrastructure was commissioned in 2020, and the tower was officially inaugurated on May 29, 2021.

Architectural Features

Çamlıca Tower was designed in line with the topography and functional requirements of its location, featuring an organic and dynamic form reminiscent of a tulip. The structure rises around a symmetrical core while presenting an asymmetrical appearance with façades opening in different directions. Panoramic elevators placed on both sides of the tower provide vertical journeys with views toward the historical peninsula and the Black Sea.

For the façade cladding, GFRC panels produced with computer-aided manufacturing techniques were chosen. The tower has a total of 49 floors, with observation decks located at the 148th and 153rd meters, and restaurant floors at the 175th and 180th meters.

^{Çamlıca Tower (AA)}

Environmental Impacts

Çamlıca Tower has consolidated numerous scattered radio and television transmitters on Çamlıca Hill into a single structure. As a result, both visual pollution has been eliminated and the intensity of the electromagnetic field has been significantly reduced.

The electromagnetic field level previously measured at 39 volts per meter in the area has been reduced to 2.5 volts per meter with the tower, remaining below European Union standards. This has ensured lower levels from a health perspective in residential areas. In addition, thanks to high-efficiency antenna and transmitter systems, energy savings have been achieved and environmental loads have been reduced.