Project . Basil – Bilkent Branch
Client . Basil A.Ş.
Area . 100 m²
Location . Ankara
Year . 2024
Program . Commercial
Project Team . Ali Sinan, İshak Şimşek, Oğuzhan Muzıkacı, Sercan Deniz
THE CORE*
the seed, usually enclosed in a hard shell, found singly or in numbers inside a fleshy fruit*
Set within the constant movement of Bilkent Station, this 100 m² branch begins from the basic contradiction of any chain: to be recognisable enough to be identified wherever it is encountered, and particular enough to belong to the place it occupies. The starting point of the project was to meet both expectations in the same room.
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The first decision was to grade visibility. Service was divided into three parts, each given a different degree of openness: the counter fully open, the kitchen half open, the dishwashing area closed. The preparation area was built as a dark green volume; an opening torn in its surface makes the ingredients and the preparation process visible. In fast-food operations the kitchen is usually concealed altogether; here it is partly on show while the dishwashing area stays out of sight. Basil’s claim to fresh ingredients is made by the space rather than by the text on the wall.
This green volume is a defined core standing on its own within the space. The slatted timber shell that wraps it reads as a single mass with rounded corners, while the seating forms a separate layer in front without touching that mass. Identity is concentrated in the core; the shell around it establishes a quieter material language that adapts to the place.
It is this separation that carries the project beyond a single branch. Because the core is conceived as a system complete in itself, it can be reinstalled inside different shells in different branches. The element that carries the identity is the core; the shell can be reinterpreted in each context. The design therefore stops being a single fit-out and becomes a repeatable branch type.
Basil states that the carbon footprint of its menu is 30% lower than an average fast-food alternative. The design supports this in two ways. The first is the choice of timber, a recyclable material, for the shell. The second is the reproducibility of the core. Rebuilding the same core in different contexts, rather than designing each branch from the beginning, reduces the resources spent in design and construction.
What emerges is not only an interior designed for Bilkent Station, but a branch type that can adapt to its setting while keeping its identity, and that can be built again.
