Out of the archive:
Industrial Architecture in Turkey

The factories established in Turkey during the early years of the Republic are noteworthy for their role as functional production spaces and as symbolic structures embodying modernism. This process began in the 1930s with the establishment of large industrial facilities by the state and entered a new phase in the 1950s as the role of private capital in industrial investments grew. Factories became one of the vehicles through which both the state and private capital were represented, and architects and investors began to collaborate more frequently.

Planned industrialization began with the First Five-Year Industrial Plan, drawn up in 1932–1933. Among the large textile complexes established under the umbrella of Sümerbank, the Kayseri Cloth Factory (1935), the Nazilli Printed Cloth Factory (1937), the Ereğli Cloth Factory (1937), and Bursa Merino Wool Factory (1938) were the most prominent investments of this period. Various actors played a role in the design and construction of these facilities: Ivan Sergeyevich Nikolaev prepared the plans for the Kayseri and Nazilli factories, while Abdurrahman Naci Demirağ and Nuri Demirağ were involved in the construction process. These sites were organized like small cities, encompassing not only production facilities but also workers’ housing, hospitals, schools, and social facilities.

During the same period, Martin Elsaesser designed the Sümerbank Headquarters in the newly established capital of Ankara, while Fritz August Breuhaus de Groot was commissioned to design the production buildings and facilities for the Eskişehir Sugar Factory. The role played by architects from outside Turkey in the state-led industrialization process was not limited to textile facilities. Construction of the Mecidiyeköy Liqueur and Brandy Factory, designed by renowned architect Robert Mallet-Stevens, began in 1930. The factory—which was the architect’s only industrial building constructed outside France—was demolished in 2012 and rebuilt in 2018 in accordance with its original design.

Beginning in the 1950s, factories increasingly became a focus for independent architects as the private sector’s share of industrial production grew. The partnership established by Doğan Tekeli and Sami Sisa in 1954 began with the Australian Wool Yarn Factory project in Rami, Istanbul. This initial endeavor laid the foundation for the firm’s specialization in the design of production facilities. Over the course of two decades, Tekeli and Sisa designed numerous factories for various industries. The most notable of these include the Kazlı Deri Factory in İzmit, the Oyak-Renault Automobile Factory in Bursa, the Lassa Tire Factory, the Eczacıbaşı Pharmaceuticals Factory, and the Unilever Home and Personal Care Products Factory. 

Aydın Boysan was notable for his extensive work on industrial buildings beginning in the 1960s. The Arçelik Çayırova Factory and the Eczacıbaşı Levent Factory were important landmarks in his career. Fazıl Saffet Aysu was known for his work for both public institutions and private companies. During the years he served as the head of the state-run TEKEL’s construction office, he worked on projects for various tobacco factories and the Tekirdağ Wine Factory, while his private-sector projects included Philips’ headquarters in Ayazpaşa and its factory in Levent. 

Starting in the 1970s, many architectural firms began specializing in industrial buildings. Cengiz Bektaş stood out for his style that foregrounded human scale and local character, particularly in the factories he designed in Denizli. Şevki Pekin seamlessly integrated concrete, steel, and prefabricated modules in a simple and rational manner, while Vasil Vingas undertook repair and renovation projects for numerous factories across Istanbul.

Out of the archive: Industrial Architecture in Turkey, prepared by Orkun Dayıoğlu from Salt in parallel with the exhibition No Admittance Except on Business, is on view on the third floor of Salt Galata. Compiled from various archives at Salt Research, the presentation focuses on a selection of factories designed by architects active in 20th-century Turkey. These buildings, many of which were shut down or repurposed amid the privatization processes that gained momentum in the 1990s, offer insights into the history of architecture and engineering in Turkey, as well as the social dynamics and work culture of the era. 

Alongside the collections in the Salt Research Architecture Archive, the City, Society, and Economy Archive holds a range of photographs documenting factories in Turkey. Click here to explore.