We might say that the Botter apartment building falls into a different category of the Abandoned Buildings of Istanbul. All of the previously analyzed buildings were built in the final years of the XX century and either left abandoned during the construction process or never used after finished. In this case, we are talking about an historical building that has a special place among Istanbul’s built patrimony and is a unique reference in its rich cosmopolitan past.
The Botter Apartmanı or Botter Han (both names in Turkish) was built in the last year of the XIX century, 1900, and it’s considered the first true example of the Art Nouveau style in Turkey. The responsible for this accomplishment is Raimondo D’Aronco, an italian architect who came to Istanbul by invitation of the Sultan Abdülhamid II. He was very much influenced by the Jungenstil and the Viennese Secession movements and, throughout his works in Istanbul, brought together those references with a touch of orientalism. It is important to say that he worked side by side with Sarkis Dalyan, member of the proeminent family of architects who designed the famous Dolmabahçe Palace among many other famous buildings.
The Botter apartment building is located in the most emblematic commercial street of Istanbul, the Istiklal Caddesi in the core of the Beyoğlu area. It was built for the Sultan’s tailor, a dutchman named Jean Botter and his family, comprising a commercial area at the ground floor, which became Botter’s fashion house and office, and five residential levels above, for the family (his wife and three daughters).
The building reveals this new style that tends to refine and synthetize the proliferation of decorative elements, when compared to neo-barroque or rococo styles, and combines new materials, such as steel – used in the balconies handrails, with more traditional ones like natural stone, that cover all the façades. The powerful but restrained use of decoration work is inspired in elements from nature such as flowers and plant branches as it is so common in the Liberty Style (the italian version of the Art Nouveau).
The Art Nouveau style became fashionable among Istanbul’s elites by the start of the XX century and buildings inspired by it started to flourish along the Bosporus, for the summer residences, as well as in the Beyoğlu area which was home to most of the city’s foreign population. D’Aronco himself designed several villas for European ambassadors in the northern shores of the historical canal.
After the dutch tailor left Istanbul, the Botter Apartments were re-used and even transformed (only in its interior) by new tenants. Nonetheless, its integrity as an architectonical jewel in the city is still preserved enough to deserve a deep restauration that would enable it to gain a new life. Nowadays, the building has been unoccupied and left to deteriorate.
As mentioned through this article, Istanbul has a considerable Art Nouveau patrimony. Between the XVIII century and the beginnings of the XX, Istanbul was a destination to all of those who wanted a taste of the close Orient. The great number of foreigners that came to work for the Ottoman Empire or the descendents of the European, Jewish, Russian or Armenian colonies that were established here for many centuries, created the backbone for a field of architectonical experiments that resulted in magnificent examples of unique sensibility. Maybe a new opportunity for the Botter Apartment building would be to showcase that distinctive richness and history in a museum exclusively dedicated to it.
Abandoned Buildings of Istanbul – Data Gathering – The Sancaktepe Towers
Abandoned Buildings of Istanbul – Data Gathering – The TAT Towers
Abandoned Buildings of Istanbul – Data Gathering – The Merter AVM
Abandoned buildings of Istanbul – Data Gathering – The Bostanci AVM
arkollective.com 
3 thoughts on “Abandoned Buildings of Istanbul – Data Gathering – The Botter Apartments”