Bursa Cable Car, being the first cable car system in Turkey, was opened on 29 October 1963. It was decided that the cable car system which served until 2012 needed renewal due to difficulty in handling increasing
passanger capacity with its technology and buildings.
Existing Teferruc, Kadiyayla and Sarialan cable car line technology, infrastructure and stations were renewed and line is extended to Uludag Resorts area. With the total line length of 8,8 km, the line starting
from Teferruc station (altitude: 236 m) to 2.Resorts Area at an altitude of 1.810 meters was completed in 2015. Stations with the total closed area of 15.000 sqm consist of cable car access platforms, ticket windows, waiting areas, buffet and sales areas, management and administration
offices, closed cabin garages and technical areas.
Challenging part of the project consisted of 9-km distance between buildings no.1 and 4, topography of buildings area due to altitude difference of 1.500 meters, change of climate, complex cable car technology in buildings, rotating steel wheels and moving cabins with capacity of 8 persons getting in and out of buildings. Another element
restricting the design was that stations’ basement contours were previously determined before the start of the project in zoning plans.
Only relationship or common denominator between the first station in the urban area and the buildings reached after a 25-minute journey in the mountainside is the ‘wire cable’. Accessibility and visitor comfort was
the priority in buildings design with compatibility to environment and topography.
It was not planned to design ‘4 sibling’ stations with visual similarity or similarity in form. Steel was used in roof structure of the buildings. The reason was that manufacturing would be faster in the workshop and
more compatible to mountain conditions where installation and access was hard.
Further, supervising manufacturing process from architectural perspective through digital fabrication was an important factor in preferring steel structural members. Tefferuc Station is the first station located in an urban surrounding. The building with its double curved steel roof cladding rises above the trees, from above looks as if
suspended in the air. The rectilinear floor plate and the curvilinear roof are stitched with aluminum and glass panels that open up like fish gills. Natural light fills up the public zone, and transparent facade lets the
public embrace the green surrounding and views to the city. On ground floor there are ticket hall, shops, cafe and management offices. On the first floor there are waiting areas, cafes and boarding platform.
Kadiyayla Station is the second station at 800m above sea level. Unlike the first station, its remote location made it difficult to transport construction materials and tools, therefore off-site fabricated steel elements were assembled on site. It is a land where wind speed reaches up to 130 km per hour, therefore an arch shaped shelter made of steel with timber cladding shields the machines and passing cabins inside with its arched steel framework, looks as if a ‘raised tunnel’ on the ground.
Sarialan Station at 1300 m height is surrounded with tectonic rocks and tall pine trees. Horizontal wooden panels bolted on curved steelwork are detached in intervals from the concrete framework, which give depth to the facade, and unlike the traditional surrounding buildings, have a slender low pitched roof, to blend in with the rock formations and the trees.
Hotels Station Last station is located at an altitude of 1.800meters in Hotels 2.region, next to ski tracks. Building is perceived as 4 storeys from the front and 1 storey plus roof from the back. Roof constructed in steel with its form shaped with folding surfaces rises with the scenery where necessary, closes down to block strong winds and allows natural light fill the space. There is a cabin garage, waiting areas, food courts and administration offices in the building. Wooden dome in dovetail model in historical mosques are now constructed in steel