Named after the legendary Tortuga Island historically associated with pirates, the project was developed by TTds | Tülay Tosun Design Studio across a 20,000 m² site through a holistic approach combining architecture, landscape architectural design, storytelling, art production and thematic spatial design. Rather than approaching the project as a conventional entertainment area composed solely of pools and slides, TTds envisioned a living narrative environment in which every detail contributes to a continuously unfolding theatrical world.

At the center of the entire design process stood a single conceptual sentence:

“Everyone entering through these gates is a pirate.”

This idea became not only the thematic foundation of the project, but also its emotional and experiential backbone. The primary intention was to transform visitors from passive aquapark users into active participants within a living narrative. For this reason, entrance sequences, wayfinding systems, material selections, sculptural elements and environmental details were all designed as interconnected components of the same story world.

The hotel connected entrance and the second main entrance serving external visitors were intentionally separated in order to establish controlled transition experiences. Monumental timber gates, ticketing structures, waiting barriers and threshold spaces were carefully designed to create a powerful sense of arrival. From the very first moment visitors enter the project, they gradually disconnect from the ordinary world and become immersed within the pirate universe.

Beyond the aquapark itself, the Kids Club, amphitheater and high capacity outdoor parking areas were also designed as parts of the same holistic narrative system. Relationships between indoor and outdoor spaces were carefully organized to ensure uninterrupted circulation flows throughout the site. Restaurants, kitchens, storage areas, bars, technical volumes, changing rooms and WC facilities were integrated into structures positioned along the main entrance axis, while their terraces became active social spaces. The artificial pond positioned at the entrance and the timber bridges crossing above it established one of the first dramatic scenes introducing visitors to the atmosphere of the project.

Within Tortuga Pirate Island Theme & Water Park, water, landscape and thematic design were approached as inseparable components of the same environmental system. Interactive splash zones emerging directly from the ground and synchronized with music rhythms, dedicated swimming pools, a pirate ship and slide system designed specifically for children, as well as large scale grey toned slides targeting adult users collectively created a layered recreational experience responding to different age groups.

The lazy river flowing beneath the slide systems physically carries visitors through the center of the themed environment, while iconic spatial elements such as the giant skull sculpture positioned at the beginning of the attraction sequence and the octopus arms rising between the slides became defining visual symbols of the project.

Private cabanas positioned within relaxation areas were shaded using Palmex polymer thatch roofing systems, while the Wibit inflatable water adventure course introduced an additional layer of movement based interactive entertainment into the project. The colorful natural pebble flooring systems used throughout the site became active environmental design elements contributing both to slip resistance and spatial orientation strategies.

One of the defining aspects of Tortuga Pirate Island Theme & Water Park is the fact that TTds participated in the project not only as a design office, but also as a producer and manufacturer. Pirate sculptures, shark and crocodile figures, thematic signage systems, Palmrock artificial rock structures, the giant skull installation, octopus arms and the distressed artistic plaster effects applied across the façades were all specially designed and produced specifically for this project.

Even the WC interiors became part of the narrative experience through printed ceiling surfaces generating underwater and cave like atmospheres. Palmex polymer thatch roofing systems, developed as one of TTds’s environmental products, were also integrated throughout timber roofs, slide coverings and Kids Club structures, strengthening the continuity of the thematic language across the entire site.

In this sense, Tortuga Pirate Island Theme & Water Park operates not only as a themed entertainment destination, but also as a comprehensive design manifesto where storytelling, architecture, landscape architectural design, art production and custom built environmental products merge into a unified experiential world. Within the project, TTds’s design language is not simply observed visually, but actively experienced by its visitors. Because within this world, everyone entering through those gates truly becomes a pirate.