Zeynep Fadıllıoğlu's work is highlighted in a new book

Launched at Milan Design Week, the publication offers a comprehensive look at Zeynep Fadıllıoğlu's most eye-catching projects, from the modern minimalist Sakirin Mosque and the city's largest luxury hotel in Istanbul to a Nikkei restaurant in Boston with a stunning, exaggerated collage mural by the artist Peter Beard.

Author Catherine Shaw, a long-time Wallpaper* contributor, writes that “Zeynep is in some ways a mirror image of Istanbul, where East and West converge and dissolve into each other,” exemplified by her uniquely nuanced cross-cultural approach to creating connects Classic and modern and connects the worlds of nature, heritage, culture, craftsmanship and art.

“Zeynep Fadıllıoğlu: Luxury redefined”

Fadıllıoğlu was born in 1955 and grew up in Yeniköy on the European shore of the Bosphorus. Her career began by designing more than 20 restaurant and club interiors for her husband Metin Fadıllıoğlu, widely regarded as the creator of Istanbul's modern artistic restaurant scene. She opened her own practice in 1995 and has worked on everything from prestigious private residences and yachts to retail stores and office buildings around the world.

Fadıllıoğlu was nominated for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2010 and is known for her impressive, multi-layered projects. Featuring previously unpublished photographs and fascinating original illustrations, the monograph presents a selection of her best projects and reveals the inspiration that has made her work in demand from London and New York to Bombay and Qatar.

On display, of course, is her light-filled Sakirin Mosque in Usküdar, Istanbul (2009), a structure consisting of an inner layer of structural glass with a decorative pattern reminiscent of a well-known verse in the Quran (a parable about the light of Allah). ) and an outer slanted layer of metal mesh in six decorative patterns. Beautiful details include glass pendant lights inspired by light shining through raindrops and a Minbar (Pulpit) decorated with carnation leaves and circular inlays.

Another highlight is an insight into Fadıllıoğlu's own apartment in Istanbul. There, the designer's extensive art collection – including pieces by Mehmet Lleri, Inci Eviner, John Wragg and Mehmet Güleryüz – is complemented by antique daybeds, 17th-century Ottoman banners and Sèvres vases.

The book eschews traditional chronological details and is written in the first person. Fadıllıoğlu describes the influences and thoughts behind her work in her own words, explaining how a natural curiosity about art, a passion for craftsmanship and a deep interest in cultural heritage guide her approach.