Ontological Evaluaiton of İstanbul Industrial Heritage Through the Concept of Palimpsest

Abstract

The state of erasing old written parchment papers and writing on them again, but the traces of old writing are still visible, is described as palimpsest. If it is necessary to examine this concept through space; It can be interpreted as still being able to see the traces of the old function and construction style among the re-functioned structures. In a city with a great history like Istanbul, there are many historical buildings that need to be re-functionalized. Among these structures, it is thought that the type of building where the concept of palimpsest can be perceived more clearly is industrial buildings. For this reason, the study is limited to the 19th century industrial buildings on the European and Anatolian sides of Istanbul. The aim of the study is the 19th century in Istanbul. According to the situation of industrial structures in 2024, it is to evaluate and question through the concept of palimpsest. In the study, qualitative research methods such as general survey model, documentary survey model and historical survey model were used as data collection methods. In order to create the conceptual ground, the general survey model and the concept of palimpsest and the ontology of space were examined. Through documentary scanning, data on various characteristics of the identified structures were collected. With the historical scan, it was aimed to determine the process of the buildings since the year of construction and their condition in December 2024. The collected technical data and visuals were evaluated by hermeneutic method. As a result of the study, among the 19th century industrial buildings in Istanbul, 11 buildings on the European side and 4 buildings on the Anatolian side that can be considered as palimpsest were determined. Research; Located in Istanbul in the 19th century. It has been deemed necessary in terms of listing the status of industrial buildings in 2024 and interpreting these structures with the concept of palimpsest by evaluating these structures through the ontology of the space. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.