ARCHITECT KEMALEDDIN: A LIFE AT ONE OF HISTORY'S TURNING POINTS (1870-1927) |
1911 First Foundation Han Eminonu
When Hayri Efendi from Ürgüp was appointed to the Ministry of Foundations in 1910 and his project was approved to build new struetures that would bring revenue to the foundation on vacant land belonging to the foundation or in place of ruined or dilapidated foundation buildings, a series of office buildings were constructed in various districts of Istanbul.
The first of these commercial buildings was the First Foundation Han(an office building), built on the ruins of Vani Efendi Medrese. The seven-storey han of adjacent buildings on the same plot was realised with a system of cut stone bearing walls reinforced with rolled iron joists and brick arch with iron joists. The classic line of the facade is fashioned with a concept that makes reference to the historical texture integrated with Ottoman revivalist elements.
It is a monumental example of the model of office buildings developed in Europe and America at the end of the 19th century.