A new book highlights the work of Turkish interior designer Zeynep Fadıllıoğlu

Launched at Milan Design Week, the publication offers a comprehensive look at Zeynep Fadıllıoğlu’s most striking projects, from the modern minimalist Sakirin Mosque and the city’s largest luxury hotel in Istanbul, to a nikkei restaurant in Boston with a stunning, over-the-top collage mural by artist Peter Beard.

Author Catherine Shaw, a long-term Wallpaper* collaborator, writes that ‘in some ways Zeynep is a reflection of Istanbul, where East and West converge and dissolve into each other,’ as exemplified by her uniquely nuanced cross-cultural approach to design that combines classic and contemporary, and straddles the worlds of nature, heritage, culture, craft, and art.

‘Zeynep Fadıllıoğlu: Luxury Redefined’

Born in 1955, Fadıllıoğlu grew up in Yeniköy, on the European shore of the Bosphorus. Her career began with the design of more than 20 restaurant and club interiors for her husband, Metin Fadıllıoğlu, who is widely credited with creating the modern artistic dining scene in Istanbul. She opened her own practice in 1995, working on everything from prestigious private residences and yachts to retails and office buildings all around the world.

Nominated for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2010, Fadıllıoğlu is renowned for her striking, multilayered projects. Featuring previously unseen photographs and captivating original illustrations, the monograph presents a selection of her finest projects, revealing the inspiration that has made her work in demand from London and New York to Bombay and Qatar.

Featured of course is her light-filled Sakirin Mosque in Usküdar, Istanbul (2009), a structure comprising an inner structural glass layer with a decorative pattern that evokes a well-known verse in the Qur’an (a parable about the light of Allah), and an exterior slanted layer of metal mesh in six decorative patterns. Gorgeous details include glass pendeloques inspired by light shining through raindrops, and a minbar (pulpit) decorated with carnation petals and circular shapes inlays.

Glimpses of Fadıllıoğlu’s own apartment in Istanbul are another highlight. There, the designer’s extensive art collection – including pieces by the likes of Mehmet lleri, Inci Eviner, John Wragg and Mehmet Güleryüz – is complemented by antique daybeds, 17th-century ottoman banners and Sèvres vases.

Eschewing traditional chronological detailing, the book is written in the first person, with Fadıllıoğlu describing the influences and thinking behind her work in her own words, and explaining how a natural curiosity about art, a passion for craftsmanship, and a profound interest in cultural heritage guide her approach.

The book’s cover star is Fadıllıoğlu’s swimming pool for The Peninsula Istanbul. ‘I think it perfectly encapsulates Zeynep’s style – simple and impactful with arts and crafts, and heritage,’ says Shaw. ‘The ceiling lights are a nod to traditional muqarnas domes, and make swimming there a sublime experience.’

‘Zeynep Fadıllıoğlu: Luxury Redefined’, published by Rizzoli, is available from Amazon

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