International architecture company RMJM has announced details of the U.S. $1 billion development it is designing in Istanbul’s new residential and business district, which it says will be one of the greenest projects in Turkey. The luxury 372,000-square-meter development on a site totaling 107,000 square meters, being designed by RMJM’s New York and Istanbul studios, will be located in the Atasehir district of Istanbul.

Set on a highly visible site that features panoramic views stretching from the Bosphorus Strait in the west to the Princes’ Islands and the Sea of Marmara to the south, the project for Turkish real estate development company VARYAP, part of Varlibas Group International, includes a 60-story tower, 1,500 residential units, a five-star hotel, offices and conference facilities with landscaped public areas and parking facilities. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2011.

The RMJM design team plans to create an “iconic” complex that takes an innovative approach to planning and sustainability. The development is designed to achieve U.S. Green Building Council LEED certification and would be the first, sustainable mixed-use development of its kind in Turkey.

The designers carefully analyzed the local site conditions and embraced the topography, climate and surrounding context to maximize the site’s natural potential and inform building orientation and landscaping. This also ensured panoramic views beyond the site, while minimizing solar heat gain to the building facades.