Press Release
Terraced Horizon Villa by Dilek Karaman Is Granted the Bronze A' Design Award in Architecture, Building and Structure Design
Dilek Karaman honored for architecture, building and structure design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 25, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Terraced Horizon Villa by Dilek Karaman, designed for Dk Interior Architecture, has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Architecture, Building and Structure Design category. The recognition forms part of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who assessed anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
What the Bronze A' Design Award Means
The Bronze A' Design Award is given to outstanding designs that showcase a high degree of creativity and practicality. It recognizes the dedication and skill of designers who produce work that stands out for its thoughtful development and innovative use of materials and technology. These designs are acknowledged for their professional execution and potential to influence industry standards positively. Winning this award highlights the designer's ability to blend form and function effectively, offering solutions that enhance people's lives and wellbeing.
More About Terraced Horizon Villa
Terraced Horizon Villa is a contemporary hillside residence conceived as a continuation of its forested slope. Layered horizontal terraces step with the terrain, embedding lower floors while projecting upper volumes through deep cantilevers. Panoramic low e glazing and pronounced horizontal shadow lines draw daylight deep inside and extend views, reinforcing a continuous relationship between interior life and landscape. The steep topography is reconfigured into a calm sequence of inhabitable platforms and outdoor horizons, where shaded edges and terraces support comfort across seasons.
About Dilek Karaman
DK Interior Architecture is a design studio that approaches interior architecture as an architectural discipline, shaping space through the relationship between structure, light, and material. It creates context-driven, timeless, and refined environments for residential, office, and private living spaces. The studio focuses on developing holistic spatial experiences where functionality and aesthetics are balanced with a strong emphasis on clarity, proportion, and material integrity.
Award Record
Dilek Karaman is a winner of 1 A' Design Award, including this recognition.
About the A' Architecture, Building and Structure Design Award
The A' Architecture Design Award is an international architectural design competition recognizing good architectural designs by best architects worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to architectural design studios, building contractors, structural engineering firms and architecture and design consultants from all countries. Entries typically include skyscrapers, museums, residential buildings, commercial complexes, educational institutions and religious structures. Awarded architectural projects are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/architecture
About A' Design Award & Competition
A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission to advance society through good design by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, the upload of a work and the preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/179519
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/179519
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!179519
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/371169
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://www.instagram.com/dkicmimarlik/
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Terraced Horizon Villa
- Function
- Villa
- Category
- Architecture, Building and Structure Design
- Discipline
- Spatial Design
- Industry
- Architecture
- Colors
- Dim Gray, Gray, Dark Slate Gray, Black and Alice Blue
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Dk Interior Architecture
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Dilek Karaman
- Country
- Turkiye
- Recognition
- Bronze A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #179519
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Terraced Horizon is conceived as a series of horizontal platforms integrated into a sloping forested terrain. Lower levels are embedded into the ground, while upper volumes extend outward through deep cantilevers toward the landscape. Large glazed facades and pronounced horizontal roof lines create a layered architectural identity that strengthens the visual and spatial connection between interior living spaces and the surrounding nature.
- Inspiration
- The project is inspired by the natural stratification of landforms and the gradual shaping of hillsides over time. Drawing from the logic of terraces and natural plateaus, the architecture translates these principles into a contemporary residential language. Strong horizontal lines reflect the stability of the terrain and the rhythm of the surrounding forest, allowing the villa to read as a constructed landscape rather than an object placed upon it.
- Research
- The project investigates how contemporary residential architecture can integrate with steep topography while maintaining spatial openness and visual continuity. Research focused on structural strategies for large cantilevers daylight penetration in terraced buildings and environmental benefits of layered shading. Material studies explored the balance between heavy grounded surfaces and transparent lightweight facades Climatic research prioritized passive cooling through shading natural ventilation and thermal mass.
- Challenge
- The primary challenge was to achieve a sense of architectural lightness while working with heavy structural systems required by the sloping site Large cantilevers had to be structurally efficient without dominating the visual expression. Another key challenge was preserving uninterrupted views while ensuring solar protection and privacy This was addressed through deep horizontal frames recessed glazing and a layered facade strategy. The final design creates a balance between landscape structure and living space transforming a steep hillside into an inhabitable architectural terrain.
- Realization and Technology
- The villa uses a hybrid concrete and steel structural system. Reinforced concrete cores and retaining walls anchor the building to the sloped site, while steel beams and cantilevered slabs extend upper volumes over the landscape. Large format low e glazing with deep horizontal frames provides passive shading. Finishes combine natural stone, exposed architectural concrete, and wood textured composites. Recessed LED lines define walls, stair edges, and landscape at night.
- Operation and Interaction
- Arrival occurs at the uppermost level through a landscaped approach. From this point, the house unfolds downward through a sequence of terraces and internal connections. Circulation is guided horizontally along panoramic facades, enabling continuous engagement with the landscape. Large sliding openings allow interior spaces to expand seamlessly into outdoor terraces. Vehicle access and garage functions are discreetly located at the lower level, separating service circulation from the main residential experience.
- Project Duration and Location
- Designed and developed between 2024 and 2025, the project is located on a forested hillside site in Istanbul, Turkiye.
- Specifications
- The villa has an estimated total construction area of approximately 1200 to 1500 square meters organized across three main spatial layers. Lower level garage technical rooms and service spaces embedded into the terrain. Main level open living areas kitchen dining and outdoor terraces Terraced Horizon has an estimated gross built area of 1200 to 1500 square meters, arranged in three layers. The lower level includes the garage, technical rooms, and service spaces embedded into the slope. The main level contains open plan living, kitchen, dining, and outdoor terraces. The upper level houses bedrooms, private suites, and panoramic balconies.
- Keywords
- Hillside villa, terraced architecture, luxury residence, cantilevered house, layered design, landscape integrated architecture, panoramic villa, contemporary concrete house, Istanbul architecture.
