KADIKÖY PROTECTS CERAMIC PANELS

• The Kadıköy Municipality's council decision from 2024 to protect decorative elements in buildings demolished as part of urban transformation projects has begun to be implemented. Lastly, the ceramic panel on the facade of the Ethem Bey Apartment in Suadiye, which was carefully removed and preserved, will be placed in the garden after the construction is completed.

In Istanbul's Kadıköy district, from Moda to Bostancı, ceramic panels adorn the facades of many buildings in almost all neighborhoods. In the 1960s, when Kadıköy was planned as a new residential area, the regulations of the time stipulated that 10% of the architectural space should be artwork, so architects incorporated ceramic panels into many buildings. However, with the demolition of old structures in Kadıköy, one of the districts undergoing the most intense urban transformation, these panels, many of which were created by important ceramic artists, began to disappear, holding a place in the city's memory.

In 2024, the Kadıköy Municipality's council decision to preserve decorative elements in buildings demolished as part of urban transformation projects was welcome news for hundreds of ceramic panels on the exterior and interior walls of buildings. This decision, a first in Türkiye, was made possible thanks to ceramic artist and academic Nurdan Arslan, whose book on the subject, "Cultural Memories in Architecture: Ceramic Panels," was recently published.

Although Kadıköy Municipality had made a decision regarding the protection of ceramic panels, there were questions about how this would be implemented. Finally, the careful removal and preservation of a panel on the facade of the Ethem Bey Apartment in Suadiye demonstrated the feasibility of the decision. The panel, created by artist Taci Alpaslan, founder of Taç Seramik, and reflecting the period and style, will be reinstalled in the apartment's garden after the building's renovation. Alpaslan stated, "I am very happy that this ceramic panel, which I made with my own hands, will be brought back to life."