Beyoğlu Neighbourhood İstiklal Street Historic Han – Akbank Beyoğlu Branch

Survey, restitution and restoration projects for the historic han building on İstiklal Street, Beyoğlu, and for the structure that today houses Akbank Beyoğlu Branch and Akbank Headquarters were prepared by Bike Architecture. The project covers the documentation of the existing state of the building, the evaluation of its historical layers and functional transformation, and the design of restoration decisions for its conservation.

Built in the early 1920s as a masonry apartment block over a cinema, the structure was the period's largest cinema with a capacity of 125, later increased to 300; it was known as "Eden" or "Şık Sineması" (Elegant Cinema). From 1952 to the present it has served as Akbank Beyoğlu Branch and Akbank Headquarters. Owing to the single-piece mirror on the ceiling of the entrance hall it was also known as Aynalı Sinema (Mirror Cinema), and was particularly favoured by Enver Pasha and the leading figures of the day.

In the survey phase, the facade layout, entrance hall, ceiling mirror and the spatial organisation of the upper floors were measured on site and existing state drawings were prepared. In the restitution studies, architectural data relating to the cinema period and the transition to bank use were evaluated; in the restoration projects, the aim was to conserve the building's historic character and preserve the integrity of the entrance hall and facades. The project was conducted by Bike Architecture for the documentation and conservation of this building, which carries the commercial and cultural memory of İstiklal Street.