Kayseri Sumerbank Cloth Manufactory Maintenance and Repair Workshop Restoration Project

The history of Kayseri, a Central Anatolian city that has been home to several civilizations, dates back more than 6000 years. However, the architectural heritage of these civilizations is disappearing as a result of the changing life styles, and the inadequacy of architectural preservation efforts and public awareness. Kayseri Province is located in the Central Kızılırmak Region, on the north side of Toros Mountains and the southeastern edge of the Central Anatolian Plain, at 7º45'-38º18' north latitude and 34º56'-36º58' east longitude. Its area is 17,170km2 and altitude is 1050m. The neighboring provinces include Yozgat in the north, Sivas in the northeast, Kahramanmaraş in the east, Adana in the south, Niğde in the southwest and Nevşehir in the west. Although the climate is continental steppe, it may differ on the plains and slopes. One of the first settlement areas in the province was perhaps the Kanesh-Karum in Kültepe dated to the 2nd millennium B.C. Another settlement formed later on the Erciyes plateau close to the current city under the name of Mazaka. The settlement was respectively under Roman, Byzantine, Danishmend, Seljuk, Eretna, Dulkadirid, Karamanid and Ottoman reign before becoming a regional government center under the Turkish Republic. Through most of this period, the city preserved its position as a commercial and provincial center. The largest settlement area before the 20th century city probably dates from the Seljukid reign when the Roman and Byzantine town in the citadel extended outside as indicated by the monuments dated to this period. Although the settlement was enlarged under the Ottoman rule, it was overshadowed by its Seljukid heritage. Due to its central location, Kayseri was not occupied following World War I. Although the province boasted of a rich mixture of ethnic groups, the non-Muslim population severely declined due to the population exchange of 1926, and the ensuing emigration to western countries; their architectural heritage is rapidly disappearing as well. On the other hand, the city grew quickly following the foundation of the republic as a regional commercial and industrial center through the statist policies of the young Turkish Republic. Various important industrial investments were made in and around the city with foreign technological help and funding during the 1920s, including the military Airplane and Tank factories on the southern edge of the city, the Power Plant and Carpet Yarn factory in Bünyan. These investments were supported by the construction of the railway joining the city to Ankara and Adana. This trend continued in the 1930s with the foundation of the Sümerbank Textile Factory with Soviet aid. The complex was designed by Turkstroj, a firm especially formed for this purpose under the direction of Professor Ivan Nikolaev in 1933-1934 and constructed in 1934-1935. The complex was not only a great step towards national industrialization but also aided the modernization and secularization of the city and its population. Constructed at the northern edge and development corridor of the city, the factory led to urban sprawl in this direction, creating new neighborhoods around it. These new settlements are different in architectural language from the rest of the city in their modernism. The new lifestyle – as opposed to the traditional one – offered by these houses as well as the cultural and recreational opportunities provided by the factory contributed to the social life in Kayseri. The complex was closed to production in 1999 but was saved from privatization due to the recognition of its national significance as indsutrial and cultural heritage. Its allocation to Erciyes University in 2001 helped the preservation of its integrity and original characteristics. The complex was listed as a historic urban site in 2003 by the Kayseri Regional Commission on the Conservation of Cultural and Natural Property based on the application of DOCOMOMO Turkey. Some of the buildings in the complex, including the Factory, Power and Steam Plants, Administration Building, Social Building, Great Storehouse, Maintenance and Repair Workshop and the in-service housing were listed as Grade I national monuments in 2008. Architectural documentation, planning and restoration activity at the site began following its allocation to Abdullah Gül University in 2012. The subject of this thesis, the Maintenance and Repair Workshop within the Sümerbank Textile Factory Complex is located in Kayseri province, Kocasinan district, Sümer neighborhood, on plot 286-302-355-358, block 1591, layouts 1872-1892 of the deed. It is surrounded by the main Factory building on the east, the railway line, storehouses and the Power and Steam Plants on the west, the Great Storehouse on the south and a comparatively empty area on the north. The main function of the workshop was to repair the production machinery in the factory by reproducing its damaged parts. It was comprised of a foundry and metal workshop, a welding workshop, metal and wood lathe and leveling workshop as well as the administrative offices, changing rooms and wet spaces associated with them. As the building was not used after being abandoned, it has not been changed. However, it has deteriorated due to the lack of regular maintenance and vandalism. The building measures 68x40m and mostly based on a single story arrangement. There are small gardens on its southern and northern ends. Its structure is a reinforced concrete skeletal system and it is covered by an inclined reinforced concrete slab. The central axis of the southern single-storey section of the building housing the workshops is raised higher and faced with strip windows. The foundry on the northern end is raised to two-storey height, and the service and office spaces associated with this section are designed with two and three levels. The walls are brick masonry with stone cladding on the exterior. The interior walls are plastered and there are some plastered areas on the exterior walls as well. The windows are iron frames with reinforced concrete sills and lintels. The doors are iron framed or wood. There are a great number of in-situ machines, workbenches, furnaces and ovens as well as chimneys and ventilation systems connected with them. There are no visible structural deformations but there are problems such as rising damp and faulty roof water drainage, lost architectural elements, damaged plastered and painted surfaces and material loss. Some of the original machinery and equipment has also been removed. Within the scope of this thesis, following a brief analysis of the city of Kayseri and Sümerbank Textile Factory Complex, the location, history and general features of Maintenance and Repair Workshop chosen as the focus of this study are described. The survey and architectural documentation of the building also includes sections on the plan and elevation features, spatial set up, construction technique, material analyses, architectural features and relevant deterioration. These analyses were inscribed on the architectural drawings of the building based on a point cloud surveyed by a total station. The point cloud model was detailed with hand sketches and measurements, which were also transferred to the drawings in a CAD environment. The restitution project, which shows the original condition of the building, is prepared based on traces observed on building, in old photographs, interviews with former workers and users, and information obtained from similar buildings in the complex. As the building was not used out of its original function, there are no serious problems about spatial restitution. It is apparent that an addition was made to the southern end of the building, probably within a decade of its construction. Apart from this, only minor changes in architectural elements were observed. The restoration and re-use proposal offers solutions to the problems observed on the building and the new function is based on the requirements of the Abdullah Gül University's Sümer Campus. The Maintenance and Repair Workshop, located centrally within the campus is proposed to house a number of interrelated functions. These include a Sümerbank Museum and Archive which will make it possible for the building to exhibit itself and its original machinery and equipment as well as the history of the Sümerbank Textile Factory with the visitors center, multipurpose hall, workshops and administrative offices associated with it, and a Research Center for Modern Architectural and Industrial Heritage and Library. Thus the building will be sustained and preserved without losing its identity and original architectural characteristics, and will be integrated with the urban community and the campus it now belongs to.