Construction of the monumental Bilkent amphitheater is moving rapidly toward completion in September. To cover the dome of the 6,000-capacity facility, steel cage pieces are being shipped from Germany and are being installed by impressive cranes in the valley that separates Main and Middle campuses.
According to the 1993 Statistical Yearbook of Turkey, the average number of days with precipitation at selected weather stations in Ankara in June is 8.4. Many of the concerts scheduled for large audiences need to be scheduled months in advance. However, if it happens to rain on the days when the renowned performers arrive in Ankara, and if there is no roof on the amphitheater, there is no alternative for rainy-day retreats. Besides, such performers have tight schedules, and therefore, making last-minute scheduling changes due to the rain is impossible. Hence, the dome.
The dome has a unique design to protect against rain and sun. The tent material that will cover the steel cage will let in light and keep out rain, but there won't be any heating or air conditioning inside.
Since the construction of the dome was scheduled in 1998 for the summer of 1999, the components of the dome were manufactured and shipped to Bilkent to be installed. Two steel cage experts from Germany are supervising the installation along with their Turkish counterparts.
The facility will have a glass facade above the stage. The amphitheater cannot be considered a simple stage with seats for the audience. The facility, which will be a part of the Faculty of Music and Performing Arts, will house full-fledged back-stage facilities, including dressing rooms for a full symphonic orchestra, storage for costumes, sound and light control rooms, and administrative offices.
The stage will have an elevator to accommodate a piano and other set pieces that may need to be moved immediately in the course of a performance. The cutting-edge technology of the amphitheater will allow radio and television broadcasting live from the premises. The indoor acoustics will be enhanced by acoustic bridges on the ceiling.
Bilkent News visited the site with Prof. Ersin Onay, Dean of the Faculty of Music and Performing Arts, and got the firsthand exciting news from him that "this greatest construction project of its kind in the history of the Republic in Ankara will welcome a foreign opera, a chorus from overseas, a foreign ballet, a Turkish opera, symphonic jazz, and multi-disciplinary art performances. The grand opening will include one or more of these and the programming efforts are underway."
Nine-hundred of the 6,000 seats make up the VIP section. The rest will be rows of padded seats.
The new facility will be an excellent place for big concerts and commencements, Onay said. Smaller concerts and theater productions will continue to be held at the Faculty of Music concert hall.
Bilkent's founder, Professor İhsan Doğramacı, came up with the idea of building an amphitheater and commissioned Erkut Şahinbaş for its design in the early 1990s. The amphitheater project, without the dome, won the "Achievement Award" in the 1993 Third National Architectural Contest.
The project's goal is to respond to the cultural needs of the Capital in an academic environment with a contemporary interpretation of a historical design.
Once opened, this monumental project will be a point of pride for Bilkent and for Ankara.
