What is restoration?
Restoration in Istanbul is a specialized discipline for carrying a listed or historically significant building's original architectural identity into the next generation. It should not be confused with renovation — restoration preserves what is old, renovation replaces with new.
The HausenLab restoration team includes a restorer architect, a restoration technician, a specialty timber craftsman, and a stonemason. We restore both residential and commercial buildings in historically dense districts such as Beykoz, Sarıyer, Üsküdar, Beyoğlu, and Eminönü.
The process begins with photogrammetry and as-built survey — the building's current state is documented at scale. Restitution (what the original looked like) is reconstructed, the restoration project is prepared and submitted for conservation board approval.
Who is it for?
- Owners of listed buildings — historic properties for which restoration is legally required
- Owners of older apartments / mansions — those wishing to preserve buildings of distinctive architectural character even when not formally listed
- Investors — turning older buildings in Beyoğlu and Karaköy into boutique hotels or rental properties
- Owners in conservation zones — buildings where board-approved design is mandatory
- Municipalities and foundations — searching for an experienced contractor on public restoration tenders
What to watch out for in restoration?
Restoration is an unforgiving service — a wrong intervention reduces both the historic and monetary value of the building:
- A restorer architect is mandatory: an ordinary architect cannot prepare a restoration project — the board will not accept it. A restorer architect or a deeply experienced architectural team is required.
- The survey must be accurate: the dimensioned as-built drives every later step. Photogrammetry is non-negotiable.
- Restitution is required: what the building originally looked like must be documented through historical research, old photographs, and comparable contemporary buildings.
- Authentic materials: brick, stone, timber, and plaster materials should be close to the originals. Cement-based modern plasters destroy lime-based historic plaster.
- Board review takes patience: board approval can take 3–6 months; do not skip it in your schedule.
- Compatibility with modern reinforcement: carbon fiber or concealed steel reinforcement can deliver seismic safety without losing the building's authentic appearance; plan this in tandem with restoration.
Why is a site survey mandatory for restoration pricing?
We do not offer an on-page calculator for restoration — every building carries unique materials, damage types, board requirements, and original detail levels.
A mansion's stone facade might be intact while its timber roof needs full replacement; another might require disassembling and re-laying stone facade pieces. Roof, gutters, eaves, doors and windows, interior plaster, flooring, ceiling timber details, and floor coverings each have separate pricing.
A proper quote requires an on-site inspection and a preliminary board consultation. After our free survey, we give you a preliminary budget range; the binding quote becomes clear after the board-approved project is finalized.
The HausenLab difference
Restoration has been a specialty practice at HausenLab since 2012. Our first major restoration project was a mansion in Sarıyer; a significant share of the 30+ restoration projects we have completed since then are listed buildings.
A restorer architect, a restoration technician, a specialty timber craftsman, and a stonemason work side by side on our team. We prepare, submit, and follow up on conservation board files ourselves; you are not burdened with board correspondence.
The restoration process is long and detailed; every application step is documented in our photo archive — that record becomes part of the final delivery report, the board's inspection, and even the building's preserved-value story.