49-year-old famous Tercüman building demolished

ISTANBUL

The 49-year-old Tercüman Newspaper building in Zeytinburnu, Istanbul, was demolished due to earthquake risk, and social media comments reflected on its significance as "the memory of the city" after the unique letter T-shaped concrete blocks were removed during the process.

The project for the Tercüman Newspaper building was selected through a competition organized by the newspaper's founder Kemal Ilıcak. The building, designed by Tunca and Günay Çilingiroğlu and viewed with interest by people who saw it, was completed in 1974.

The building, which consists of three blocks, was sold along with the newspaper in 1993 due to a financial crisis and was abandoned after a while.

Due to its architectural value, the building was registered in 2010 with the decision of the Istanbul Regional Board for the Protection of Cultural and Natural Heritage No. 4.

In 2012, the reinforced concrete building was de-registered on the grounds that it was not significant in terms of its historical, archaeological, environmental and other importance and features.

The building, which hosted many institutions, was recently renamed TOYA Plaza. Zeytinburnu Municipality issued a risky building detection report on the 19,344 square meter five-story Tercüman Newspaper facilities, which attracts attention with its iconic structure.

A demolition permit was issued on Nov. 24. The building was demolished by its owners on Dec. 3 after the municipality evacuated and secured the area.

The newspaper introduced the building, which attracted great attention at the time it was built, with the following article:

"You may be frightened by the 225-square-meter concrete blocks that stand in space without any support from below on the four upper corners of our building. The fact that the eight workplaces stand in the void like wings is a novelty not only in Türkiye but also in all of Europe."

The concrete blocks standing in the void were specially manufactured in Germany and suspended from above with high-strength rebar stretched with special blocks.

This system was also applied in the construction of the ring road crossings, and the concrete roads where wings on both sides became a miniature of the blocks in the Tercüman building.

The building was elevated on sixteen load-bearing curtains rising from the main foundations laid 20 meters below the ground. The letter "T" of Tercüman, visible from all sides, was originally intended for Türkiye and the Turkish nation.