VitrA Çağdaş Mimarlık Dizisi - Arkitera

This project involved the restoration and renovation of three buildings with different
dimensions and structural characteristics in Galata as rental houses. The structural
characteristics of the buildings were the primary concern, and different concepts were
adopted, focusing on a local and authentic transformation rather than a radical intervention.
Protecting the original facade, Tatar Beyi has been totally renewed, in keeping
with its modest, unornamented authentic details. With its low storey height, plan
formation and location, Ali Baba, which was originally used as an office building, has
been refunctioned to house open plan studio flats designed with contemporary materials
and details. The most impressive building of this trilogy in terms of its architectural
characteristics, mass and location, Aslan Han has also been restored based on its
authentic architecture.
✎
A social and physical transition process in which designers and young entrepreneurs
have restored old and cheap historical buildings in the Cihangir and Galata Tower districts
since the beginning of the 2000s has lead to gentrification in the last 10 years.
This phenomenon has also expanded towards lower areas such as Tophane, Karaköy
and Perşembe Pazarı, and abandoned buildings in these areas have risen in value. In
parellel with this, dynamism and cultural life from Taksim to Galatasaray Square on
Istiklal Street have extended towards Tünel, Galata Tower and Cihangir with the help
of recently-opened stores, increasing the accessibility of these areas and boosting the
demand for accomodation and houses. In order to meet the accommodation demands
of young elites wanting to be close to their social and cultural lives in the cosmopolitan
city, three buildings close to each other in the Müeyyetzade area of Galata were restored
and renovated to be rented to tourists as temporary apartments. Galata Trilogy,
carried out by NOA A.Ş., aims to use currently used or unused buildings by converting
them into a form that address current needs, which a strategy that has become
a model for micro urban transformations. Galata Trilogy offers sport halls and accomodation
units with 54 apartments, and also a new and attractive alternative, different
from the standard offers, for tourists wanting to have the comforts of home.
220
1
2 3