We talked about natural stone with İrem Arıbaş and Hüseyin Beş, the two founders of BAB Architects
Natural stone is a magic that nature has preserved for thousands of years. And then there are the hands that transform that stone into unique works with their skillful touches: Architects. BAB Architects is one of the companies that stand out with their skillful hands. We talked to İrem Arıbaş and Hüseyin Beş, two successful names of BAB, who were among the finalists at the World Architecture Festival (WAF) Awards, about their projects and natural stone.
FROM UNIVERSITY TO PARTNERSHIP
First, we start the conversation by getting to know BAB a little bit. BAB Architects was founded in 2018 by Interior Architect Hüseyin Beş and Architect İrem Arıbaş. In fact, the beginning of the story dates back to the university years of two idealistic students. Ms. İrem starts the conversation and says, “Our career journey actually started during university years. When we realized the joy and responsibility of designing, we realized that we wanted to build such a structure according to our ideals and in our own style.”
NEW DREAMS
Well, the road traveled in 6 years. In this part of the story, Hüseyin Beş enters the conversation and continues as follows: “Our primary goal has always been to be a company that combines comfort and designing the right spaces with aesthetics and aims to find the right mix. We focused on ensuring that the projects we produce are unique and create added value. We are very happy to have realized our dreams at the beginning of this journey and to be people who can dream new dreams today. It is our biggest chance that our profession excites us so much.”
OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW POTENTIAL
We come to the great success of the firm in 2024. We congratulate İrem Arıbaş and Hüseyin Beş, who were finalists in the “Inside – Workplace (Large)” category at the World Architecture Festival (WAF) Awards with the Anadolu Agency Istanbul Headquarters and Open Office project, and ask what this award means for architects. Ms. İrem tells us with her excitement reflected in her eyes: “The Anadolu Agency Istanbul Headquarters and Open Office Project is an interior architecture project that was planned and designed from scratch after the exterior design and implementation of a building with a total construction area of 15 thousand m2 was completed, but the interiors were received as a completely rough construction. Multinational design competitions always excite us a lot. We want to show our voice and design potential to the whole world. As big organizations such as WAF give us these opportunities, we, as Turkish designers in Turkey or abroad, have the chance to express the colors, textures and ties of this geography with the world.
The added value of this for Turkey is very high. Today’s most important and valuable capital is human capital. Achievements in these and similar competitions are elements that increase the value of human capital in our country and therefore the value of the country. Turkey is a country with a very high potential. We are aware of this. If we have achieved a success as BAB, we prefer to look at it as ‘we’. All our colleagues, our student friends who are candidates for the profession, or anyone who aspires to architecture and design. The whole country. This kind of achievements allow the work to develop, the structure to continue and be strong.”
“A GREAT CHANCE FOR THE PROMOTION OF TURKISH STONE”
As a natural stone magazine, we would like to take the issue in a different direction. A sponsorship agreement has been signed between WAF and the Istanbul Mineral Exporters’ Association and this year there was a special award called ‘Best Use of Stone’. We ask how this will contribute to the promotion of Turkish natural stone. Hüseyin Beş underlines the following points: “Turkey has an important position worldwide in terms of natural stone reserves and diversity. WAF, as one of the most prestigious events of the architecture world, has a great impact on a global scale. Therefore, we would like to interpret this sponsorship agreement in this sense as a union of forces. The awarding of the “Best Use of Stone” prize this year will provide a great opportunity for the promotion of Turkish natural stone in the international arena. This step will enable architects, designers and investors around the world to discover the unique properties of Turkish natural stone. The awarding of such an award on a platform such as WAF will increase the brand value of Turkish natural stone in the global market by emphasizing its aesthetics, durability and sustainability. This opportunity is of course a source of pride and happiness.”
EACH SLAB HAS A DIFFERENT IMPACT
So what does natural stone mean to these two names who are the pride of Turkey? Is there a special stone or color that influences them? İrem Arıbaş answers this question as follows: “Natural stones are a very diverse type of material, adding a different texture to interiors. It does not contain harmful substances and toxins. Thus, it can be used safely both indoors and outdoors. In addition, it is one of the oldest construction materials known and used by humans. It is also a salvageable and recyclable material, reducing the negative impact on the ecosystem. As for favorite stones. Natural stones are materials with a variety of surfaces as well as a variety of products. Even slabs made from the same natural stone can create very different surface effects. Thanks to this possibility and the unique character of the material, it is very difficult to stick to a single type or color. Even when we go to select a natural stone on site with an idea in mind for our projects, believe me, all ties are re-established every time, instantly. To put it in a sentence, you can never choose a natural stone from a catalog or just a piece of sample, it will find you among the many options you face with the whole of the material you need.
OBSTACLE TO THE STONE IS TIME AND BUDGET
We turn to the question of whether natural stone is used sufficiently in Turkey, a natural stone country. Two successful names start the conversation by emphasizing our emphasis on ‘enough’: “Of course, we see examples of successful use of natural stone in many important projects in our country. But to be honest, it is still difficult for us to say ‘yes’ to the ‘enough’ detail in your question, given the opportunities we have. Natural stone, which has a very wide usage area, can now find a place in almost every field with the developing technology. You can turn the use of natural stone material into a work of art by giving it the necessary time to be processed and bringing it together with the right hands. However, with reference to our own experiences, we think that the time and budgets allocated to projects in our country undermine this opportunity a bit. As architects and interior architects, in our material choices; although we can have a say against our customers regarding the added value that the products we choose will provide to the project, the environment and the country, unfortunately, we do not have enough opportunity to have the last word. No matter how insistent you are at the beginning, it is difficult for some results to gain the power of persuasion without being personally experienced by the end user and without the positive effects being seen by eye. Instead, we believe that supporting our material choices and the added values we foresee with certain regulations and regulations can be an important step.”
