Rönesans Rezidans (Renaissance Residence) was a residential building in Ekinci, Antakya, that fell over in February of 2023 during the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake. It was the first luxury apartment in Hatay Province.
The building was built between 2011 and 2012. It was the home of generally more wealthy people in Antakya. It was kind of a luxurious residence. It was built by Antis Yapi, a company that was established many years ago. When it fell over during the first earthquake it might have trapped or killed at least 800 people. Rescue efforts looking for survivors are still ongoing. It was said that the structure of the building was strong, and that it did not collapse but it was instead tipped as Dr. Ahmet Ercan explains. The shockwave got bigger on its way from Gaziantep, where the epicentre of the first earthquake was. When the shockwave arrived in Hatay Province it had gotten so big that it caused much more intense and violent shaking of the ground in Hatay.
Architect/Engineer Yoshinori Moriwaki said that the building did not have friction piles which he says would have prevented it from falling over. The building did have a floating raft system. Geophysics Professor Ahmet Ercan said that the foundation of the building should have been deeper. He said that it looks 3 meters deep but it should have actually been about 10 meters deep.
The Ekinciler Belde Municipality gave the permits for the building in 2013. Lütfü Savaş said that the building was probably build correctly and followed regulations.
Design and construction
The building is the first residenz (Turkish: Rezidans) in Hatay. It was built to be a home for families that are working in the growing border trade business in Hatay. Hatay is next to the Syrian border. The building was home to around 700 residents. Other people have said that almost 1000 residents lived in the building. The building is 12 floors high and has a total 249 homes, 2 shops. The building is divided into 4 blocks. The area that the building takes up on the ground is large.
The homes range from squared. The building had amenities such as a half Olympic sized pool, jacuzzi, gym, sports facilities, children's playground, a place for cars to park under a roof, secretary and reception services, walking and biking paths, wakeup service, shop, 24/7 security services and waterfalls. Mehmet Yaşar Coşkun was the Chairman of the Board of Antis Yapı when the building was made. He said that this project will "create an area where all kinds of social activities can take place". The need for parking spaces is answered inside the building. Keeping the cars inside keeps the outside without cars and free and open for activities to take place.
Building started in 2011 by Antis Yapı. The first of the building was started with a ceremony which was attended by: Hatay MP Sadullah Ergin, Hatay governor H. Celalettin Lekesiz, mayor Lütfü Savaş, chief constable Ragıp Kılıç and mayor of Ekinci municipalit Seyfettin Yeral. The plan was to finish building in April 2013. It was finished in 2012. The company Antis Yapı was started by the architect Mehmet Yaşar Coşkun and engineer Hüseyin Yalçın Coşkun.
The license for the building was given by the Ekinciler Belde Municipality in 2012 accordign to Lütfü Savaş.
The building was constructed onto a floating raft foundation. People thought the building can survive earthquakes.
Collapse
The building fell over after the first earthquake of the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, which affected Hatay. People beliebe that there are 800 people under the building.
People got angry at the building because many older buildings that were close were still standing as of 17 February, while Rönesans Rezidans had fallen over. Dr.Ercan has explained that the concrete wasn't bad, but the foundation was not deep enough. Also the shockwaves of the first earthquake arrived in Antakya with a much bigger than was expected. According to Dr. Ercan, the disaster might not be the fault of municipality or contractor or the building inspection board. He says there needs to be a proper analysis of the situation that takes into consideration how exactly the earthquake waves affected the building. The investigation should be done by geophysics experts, and they should not rush to put the blame on anyone and also not rush to forgive anyone. However the rubble of the building was already cleared out by 24 February even though the building was cleared up it is still not known how many people died because of the collapse.