Our Approach to Restoring Historic Buildings: Notes from Eminönü

Working with a historic building is a very different discipline from designing on an empty plot. The building is already there, carrying centuries of traces, repairs, additions and scars. The architect's first task is not to design, but to understand.

In the Eminönü Restoration Project we began with a measured survey. Every façade, arch and stone joint was measured and documented. A survey is not merely a technical drawing; it is an honest record of the building as it stands today, and the basis for every decision that follows.

The second step is restitution: reconstructing the original state of the building through archival documents, old photographs and on-site findings. Discipline matters here. We never add a detail without evidence simply because it "looks right". Leaving what we do not know unknown is the foundation of restoration ethics.

The third step is the restoration project itself. Our intervention decisions follow three principles: minimum intervention, reversibility and legibility. Every new element should be distinguishable from the original fabric to a careful eye, yet must not disturb the harmony of the whole.

In material selection we remain faithful to the original. Küfeki limestone, Khorasan mortar and traditional timber craftsmanship are required not only for aesthetics but for physical compatibility. Applying cement-based mortar to a historic wall may look solid in the short term, but it stops the stone from breathing and causes irreversible damage over time.

Restoration is not about freezing the past. It is about letting the building live and be used today, and handing it on intact to the next generation. That was exactly our goal in Eminönü: to add a new chapter to the building's story without erasing the earlier ones.

You can find the project's images and process drawings on our Projects page.