Istanbul Sapphire emerges as the first high-rise residential tower in the city’s commercial district. The building rises in agreement with the surrounding high-rise office towers but still maintains a human scale by means of internal vertical gardens. The residents can thus open their windows to their terraces or gardens even at the highest levels. Housing 187 apartment units of varying size, they are designed to be flexible for combining or dividing further in the future.

The building façade consists of two independent shells. The interiors are protected from adverse weather conditions and noise by the outer shell. The space created between the two shells is used as gardens and terraces for the apartments. These spaces are broken into three story components, a garden floor and two floors with terraces overlooking the gardens. Each atrium serves nine or fewer apartments depending on the unit sizes.

The garden zone is naturally ventilated though louvers which take air in at the ground level and exhaust through the top. Louvers automatically open and close according to weather conditions. The interior temperature is maintained to be equal to the exterior temperature and a 25–30% saving in air conditioning can be achieved. These three-story garden atriums create a unique living experience for a tall building, giving residents the feeling of sharing a three-story house with close neighbors as is common in traditional Istanbul houses in the country side. In addition to the inner gardens, every ninth floor in the building accommodates various common recreational areas, such as a mini golf course at 187 m (614 ft) high, swimming pool, etc.

The building has a concrete structure supported by steel elements. The thin building form is supported by two cores at the narrow ends. The building was planned with four separate zones, separated by the common recreational areas, these buffer zones also house the maintenance and support facilities and the mechanical systems of the building.

Viewed from the outside, the building tapers as it rises upward. Below the fourth level, the building expands outward and the glass covering the surface of the building sweeps out and extends horizontally forming a skirt to the building. This covers the cafés, bars, restaurants, cinemas and stores, maintaining the integrity of the retail and social zone. The retail area is perceived as a multi-layered, dynamic, large single space. This wide space benefits from natural light, and in addition to retail in this broad area, four levels of shopping are included in the basement levels.