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Architects: DS Architecture, ITÜ
- Area: 18277 m²
- Year: 2021
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Photographs:Cemal Emden
FROM ONE PUBLIC SERVICE TO ANOTHER - The transformation of Hasanpaşa Gasworks into a public park and museum complex. The former Hasanpaşa Gasworks is an industrial complex made up of 22 production machines, storage units and service buildings, and is situated on some thirty-thousand square meter site in Kadıköy on the Anatolian side of Istanbul. Following the closure of the plant in 1993, the site was deserted and left in a derelict state. Hasanpaşa Gasworks is one of the most important industrial heritage sites in Istanbul. The founding of the plant dates back to the late-19th century, when Kadıköy was a small district and not nearly organized enough to require such an extensive public service with high development and operation costs.
The new gasworks at Kadıköy was established as a result of the changing settlement structure in the vicinity, and was an example of the technological importation of the empire. French industrialist Charles George was awarded the concession for the founding and operation of the plant in 1891. Following its inauguration in 1982 and in line with the technological developments in gas production, as well as to supply for a growing demand, various French, German and Italian firms were hired to undertake several improvements and additions to the plant.
There are three main historic stages of Hasanpaşa Gasworks. The only documents referring to the founding period are the German cadastral maps of Istanbul from 1910’s. In this period, gas was produced in horizontal retorts, the cleaning and purification plant was in the place of Building A, the gas was stored in a single gasometer and the workshops were located in Buildings T. Pervititch Insurance Maps show that this first period lasted until 1938.
In the second period, while some buildings were reorganized, the capacity of the plant was increased with a new gasometer and the plant itself was upgraded with another unit for the production of carbureted gas. During the last period of the gasworks, the French and German firms constructed vertical retort batteries and cleaning and purification plants, while an Italian firm added the compressor and the third and largest gasometer. The plant have reached peak capacity in this third period, which lasted nearly a decade. The structures and equipment imported from various European countries, in addition to the local architectural characteristics of the buildings make this complex a unique example of industrial heritage in Turkey.
The preservation history of the site was leaded by an NGO called Gasworks Volunteers. With their big efforts the site was listed on the national inventory in 1994. Following this decision documentation and the first restoration project was prepared by a team from ITU in 2002 as a pioneer example of multi-disciplinary and multi-actor process in Turkey
The project started with the documentation of the site in 2000. The main restoration approach was the in situ conservation of all the industrial installations as well as buildings. A detailed historical analyses of the site guided the intervention decisions The project was envisioned as a cultural site in service of not just its immediate neighborhood, but the entirety of metropolitan Istanbul. Twenty of the buildings were refunctioned, while two non-existing gasometers were visually reconstructed with contemporary materials in order to maintain the space integrity of the original site.
New functions of the site include a museum, educational facilities for children, workshops and galleries for artists, a library, a multipurpose auditorium, a virtual performance center, a terrace, restaurants and cafes, an underground car park and administrative spaces. After a long period of oblivion, uncertainty and finally construction, one of the most important industrial monuments in Istanbul is reopened. The site is owned and maintained by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. Hasanpaşa Gasworks, now revitalized as Müze Gazhane has welcomed the public for the first time in July 2021.
