TB House: Urla Design Library & Faruk Tabak Reading Room

TB House: Urla Design Library & Faruk Tabak Reading Room

There is a small domed building from the 16th century in Kapan Camii Street, in the Urla district of Izmir. This building, which was a primary school in the Ottoman period, was registered as a house, and today it has been a special design library open to the public at certain times. It is a domed, two-storey historical building with a floor area of 7.3 x 7.2 meters in the center of Urla, a few minutes' walk from the town hall and the Malgaca Bazaar known as Arasta.

The history

There is a small domed building from the 16th century in Kapan Camii Street in Izmir's Urla district. According to the data obtained, it is thought that it was built on the same date (1560) with the Kapan Mosque on that street. The two-storey historical building with a floor area of 7.3m x 7.2m was purchased by Prof. Dr.Tevfik Balcıoğlu in 2005 and the project studies were initiated. During the project, it was understood that the building was not a masjid, but a primary school. This small building, whose restoration was completed after long studies, was turned into a special design reference library open to the public.

Author, M. Arch. Rest. Exp. Salih Özgür Genca carried out the approval process of the projects in Izmir No.1 Regional Board for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage and the projects were implemented by UMART Architecture with a successful restoration. There is a library, kitchen, WC and bathroom downstairs. Although the upper floor was surrounded by buildings on three sides over time, it offers a delightful space with windows opening to each facade, a stove, a 6-meter-high dome, balanced proportions and magnificent acoustics. This place is prepared not only as a working area, but also for a multi-purpose use. It can accommodate many small-scale special events, from meetings, seminars, workshops, to music and yoga classes.

Suitable for chamber orchestras. Programs that will appeal to all segments of the building are envisaged, and preparations are made to realize a wide spectrum of fiction from reading fairy tales, poems, books to designing and workshop studies for the children of the neighborhood. In addition, with the furniture to be placed, accommodation function is about to be gained.