Büyükada Greek Orphanage, whose restoration projects were prepared, was displayed for the first time after a long time. It was stated that a budget of 20 million Euros was required for the restoration.
The Prinkipo Palas hotel in Istanbul Büyükada, built in 1898 by the French architect Alexander Vallaury, was bought by a Greek in the early 1900s after the license was not granted, and donated to the Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarchate on the condition that it be used as an orphanage. The historical building was a home for about 6,000 Greek orphans until it was locked in 1964. The first step for the Büyükada Greek Orphanage, which was abandoned to its fate 57 years ago, was taken by BİMTAŞ, one of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Subsidiaries, in August 2020.
The ruined interior of the building, whose digital documentation and survey works have been completed, was viewed for the first time in a long time. Noting that the results of the works were delivered to the Fener Greek Patriarchate, BİMTAŞ Deputy General Manager Nazım Akkoyunlu said, “As a result of the documentation, the restoration process of the building needs to be continued quickly. These processes require large budgets. Especially for such a structure, about 20 million euros are mentioned. At the moment, the investigations of the Protection Board No. 5 are continuing. After the works are passed by the board, restoration projects of the building will be prepared quickly,” he said.
Thanks to the works, the 123-year-old historical building will be restored in accordance with its original and historical texture. In the work carried out by a team of 70 people with their special equipment, the structure was redrawn millimeter by millimeter. The teams worked by installing their equipment at more than a thousand points. The survey of the orphanage was made in 4 months.
Stating that they started the work a year ago, Nazım Akkoyunlu gave the following information: “We carried out a digital documentation work for the Büyükada Greek Orphanage. For the documentation work, we first had to produce a survey that revealed the current state of the area. When we look at the current state of the building, we see that it has been seriously damaged. In order not to waste time, we took action immediately and with a work of approximately 45 days, we created a high-resolution data for the structure. We performed this data with a scanner, which we call a point cloud.”
Stating that a serious budget is needed for the restoration process of the building, Akkoyunlu said, “As a result of the documentation, the restoration process of the building needs to be continued quickly. These processes require large budgets. Especially for such a structure, about 20 million Euros are mentioned. The digital documentation and survey documentation of Büyükada Greek Orphanage was completed and shared with the board. We carried out this work together with the Fener Greek Patriarchate. Büyükada Greek Orphanage belongs to the Fener Greek Patriarchate. As of June, we delivered the results of our work to the Fener Greek Patriarchate. At the moment, the investigations of the Protection Board No. 5 are continuing. After the works are passed by the board, restoration projects of the building will be prepared quickly,” he said. (DHA)
