The study of gasometers in European countries in the context of development of steel structures and the re-functioning proposal for Dolmabahce gasometer

Crucial developments had concurrently taken place in the fields of architecture, construction and building materials whilst the Industrial Revolution has brought out many new inventions and practices in numerous other fields. Even though iron had been partially used in buildings since very old times, it was by the Industrial Revolution when iron was acknowledged as a supporting element for the main structure. The first uses of iron as supporting element could be seen in bridges, respectively as cast or pig iron, wrought iron and steel. Britain was the predecessor in using iron as a building material however in the following years iron continued to show itself in a number of other buildings in various European cities. Usage of iron and steel has increased in the Ottoman industrialization movement which took place in the last era of the Ottoman Empire, especially with the industrial structures such as factories, gasworks, shipyards. It is aimed to compare the structural steel usage between European countries, the Ottoman Empire and subsequently Republic of Turkey in order to comprehend the factors that make up the difference. In this period where industrialization movements were rapidly expanding, gasometers which are dynamic steel structures of industrial facilities illuminating the streets, avenues and the properties with gasworks have emerged. Being the leading country in the usage of iron as a building material, Britain has also exhibited a similar situation in the construction of gasometers and in the formation of construction principles. Similarly, European countries have also constructed gasworks facilities to illuminate their cities, following Britain. However, the industrial facilities which were affected by the development of technologies most, had been closed due to their incompatible systems. In the mid-20th century, there was a serious number of facilities turning up to be abandoned places, across both Europe and Turkey. The registration and re-usage of gasometers could have been enabled by forming the preservation standards for industrial facilities and the acknowledging these structures as archaeological heritage. In Europe, many re-use proposals have been prepared and enforced for many gasometer structures. In this study, it is aimed to bring forward the re-function proposals for Dolmabahçe Gasometer which is one of the two remaining gasometer structures in Turkey, in terms of all the mentioned topics and the examined environmental conditions.