On the Street: Raise Your Head : August 2013

Karaköy or historically Galata is a paradice for National architecture observation, especially the Avenue of Banks or officially Voyvoda Avenue has prominent samples by Mimar Kemalettin but the buildings at Karaköy coast and along Kemankeş avenue affects me more due to its civilian sense which is not a fact for many of the National Architecture style buildings that are designed for governmental uses.

Near the Karaköy ferry port, I. National Architecture samples start with small naval police station building and the restaurant named Babushka, these series of 3 buildings makes a good combination of different sizes of the same style. Interestingly Ottoman ceramics is not used in the facade of these buildings and especially the building of Babuska restaurant has a dynamic facade with different layers of ornaments on it. And the differing shape of the wooden shape of windows and the small roof at the top completes the objects of modernly constructed "Turkish House". ( Sorry that I did not upload any pictures of them yet)

But more interesting ones for me are the buidings designed by Vedat Tek on Galata Şarap İskelesi street and Kemankeş. The building on Galata Şarap İskelesi Street, namely Muradiye Han (formerly Sabit Bey Hanı) has tiles which are decently oriented on a very humble facade probably ornamented with numerous windows in different shapes on it which gives the dynamism to this plain building.

Muradiye Han, Galata Şarap İskelesi Sokak

The other building is on Kemankeş Avenue which is now under construction and probably be a part of a big otel complex in few years. The only thing I wish is to see the original interior of the building after the construction and hope that they won't destroy it.

In deed I am not sure that the architect of the building is Vedat Tek but I have strong feeling because of the design and the material that he might be the architect !! The only information I could find is that this building was used as a headquarter of a shipping country for long time...

Kemankeş Caddesi, Karaköy

Both below are the pictures of back facade of Paradise restaurant with a greater "cumba" (balcony) and roof (sundurma ? ). The yellow building on left with arabesque windows is also the back facade of naval police station.