Geophyte Research Station

The Geophyte Research Station is a unique geophyte garden that combines Seljuk architecture with ‘bulb design’ and includes the first Alpine greenhouse in Turkey. It is also the biggest geophyte garden in a temperate climate country and the richest in terms of species – over 1,000 species and 1,200 taxonomic groups. Plants such as peonies from across Turkey have been taken into its protection.

The complex includes a 450 m² geophyte exhibition that was inspired by the Agri Mountain - the highest in Turkey. Other buildings include the Alpine Greenhouse, extensive cultivation greenhouses, an administrative building, an open geophyte garden of 17,400 m² and an indoor area. The entire project covers 20,000 m². Erdal Kaya wanted to use steel to build this inventive structure because it gave the required flexibility of design and ease of construction. When it came to protection of the steel, Erdal Kaya explained his choice as follows:

“We preferred to use hot dip galvanized coatings as it is the most environment-friendly corrosion protection solution to make the Geophyte Garden long lasting.”