ATO Congresium Ankara

ATO Congresium occupies a full block on Söğütözü Boulevard in the Söğütözü business district of Çankaya, Ankara, the purpose-built congress and exhibition address of the Turkish capital's commercial core. It opened on 14 September 2012 and is owned by the Ankara Chamber of Commerce (ATO), which uses it both as a revenue venue and as the setting for the chamber's own assemblies and sector events; that ownership is central to its significance, because it gives Ankara a venue backed by the city's business establishment in a district already dense with ministries, corporate headquarters and hotels. The building contains 80,000 sq m in total. The ground floor reserves 10,000 sq m for trade exhibitions, and the upper floors hold two dividable halls of 5,770 sq m each, two lounges of 400 sq m, ten meeting rooms, a 1,500 sq m ballroom and a 3,107-seat auditorium, plus dining facilities and two terraces looking over the city. Venue features include simultaneous interpretation infrastructure, VIP and speaker suites, a helipad and parking, with the auditorium and halls used for congresses, product launches, award ceremonies and public-sector conferences. Architecturally it reads as a contemporary stone-and-glass civic volume with a deep cantilevered canopy over the entrance and a terraced upper level, closer to a European convention centre than to a fairground shed. Transport is easy by Ankara standards: Söğütözü station on the M2 metro line (Kızılay–Koru) is within walking distance, city bus routes 411 and 413 stop on Söğütözü Caddesi, and Esenboğa Airport is roughly 35 to 40 minutes away via Özal Boulevard and the ring road.