Industrial Heritage: Re-connecting with the city: Adaptive Reuse of the Kibrithane Building

Existing situation, the places that were once considered the frontiers of Istanbul remain within the city and cannot transform and adapt, and the industrial heritage that has become a missing piece of a puzzle often appears before us as a question mark among the unknowns of the city. A lost area in this context Küçükçekmece Ottoman Matches Factory was established in 1893 with foreign capital as a result of trade agreements made during the Ottoman Empire Period and started its operations in 1897. According to industrial statistics during the historical examination process of the factory, it has the distinction of being the first match factory established in Istanbul. Starting from the concept of industrial heritage, the emergence of industrial movements in Europe and their interaction with the Ottoman Industry were investigated, and it was aimed to determine the place of the chemical industry in the Ottoman Industry and to convey the industrial identity of the Marmara coastline in this period. In line with the data obtained as a result of the analysis studies of the structure whose importance as an industrial heritage was questioned, suggestions were developed in terms of the value it carries and its structural protection. The failure of the late Ottoman Empire to adapt sufficiently to the industrial revolution and the insufficient resources of the early republican period led to the division and functional separation of the structure over time, which paved the way for four of the five blocks to remain idle until today. The structure, which is an important part of the city’s memory, is important in terms of industrial heritage in Turkey due to its location close to the sea, beach, lake, various transportation options, and history.. The valuable location of the building, located at the intersection of the Marmara Sea and Lake Küçükçekmece, the building’s surroundings, the structure and the industrial identity of the building in light of the information obtained, while preserving its original historical and structural features in a transforming time, interior and exterior areas with different functions were designed in line with current needs and environmental context, and suggestions were presented that integrated the building environment relationship to the present while preserving its identity, thus aiming to adapt the building and its surroundings, which are a lost part of the region, to the present day and provide an area where people can interact.