Projects & Buildings
Architect | Dr. M. Sinan Genim |
Original Architecture | Mimar Sinan |
Assistants | Nesrin Küçükbayrak / Nesrin Taşkın / Sibel Franko |
Employer | Turkish Culture Foundation |
Static | Attila Çaydamlı |
Mechanic | Sabri Sönmez |
Electiricity | Şükrü Başol |
Decoration | Dr. M. Sinan Genim / Cem Ener |
Purpose | Turkish Hand Crafts Cultural Centre |
Project Year | 1988 |
Construction Year | 1988-1989 |
Land Area | 645.25 m² |
Construction Area | 557.00 m² |
Soğukkuyu Cafer Ağa Medrese built by Cafer Ağa, the Ağa of Bâbüssaâde, in 1955-1959, is a building of Sinan. The medrese consists of fourteen student rooms, of which twelve are domed and two are mirror-vaulted, one classroom and a toilet. Because it was constructed on a slope, beneath the rooms looking at the Alemdar Street are four shops with high ceilings. The exterior walls are made of hacking stone, while the facades of the colonnades of the courtyard are made of grit. The roof is covered with lead.
The medrese caught fire in 1767. According to the two inscriptions dating to 1261 [1845] and 1263 [1847], it was thoroughly repaired between these dates. In 1985, the Turkish Republic informed UNESCO that the ruined building was to be restorated due to the coming 1988 Mimar Sinan Year. However, nothing was made until the early 1988. As a result, the Turkish Culture Foundation hired the building from the General Directorate of Foundations after a long endeavour, renewed the building on its own and with donations. The building became functional again with alterations that took twelve months. The original planning and material were preserved.