Beykoz Yalı Restoration

A wooden waterfront mansion (yalı) on the Beykoz shoreline — documented as built at the end of the 19th century — had drifted from its original identity through 25 years of unconsidered interventions. The facade timber had decayed, the stone basement was damaged by moisture, and a portion of the period hand-carved ornaments had been covered with cement-based plaster. The owner asked for the mansion to be brought back to life for modern living while remaining faithful to its original identity.

The first three months were devoted to photogrammetry, as-built survey, and material analysis on site. Restitution (original state) and restoration (proposed intervention) projects were prepared separately for the conservation board. Later interventions were catalogued one by one and the reversible ones listed.

The board review took 4 months. After approval, the execution plan was built around these priorities:

• Stop water ingress first: roof, gutter, and eaves repair
• Then stabilize the load-bearing system: prosthetic-jointed repair at decayed nodes of the timber frame, structural reinforcement via concealed steel connections
• Last, return to the original texture: ornaments, joinery, paint

Samples of the original facade timber profiles were re-drawn by hand at a historic carpentry workshop. Decayed sections were cut and replaced with log-jointed prostheses of identical cross-section; 70% of the original material was preserved in place. In the stone basement, cementitious plasters were mechanically removed and lime-based plaster appropriate to the period was applied; the building breathes again.

Interior timber beams were reinforced with concealed carbon-fiber strips. The original texture was preserved on visible surfaces; mechanical plumbing was run on exterior-mounted copper pipes and electrical wiring through visible antique switch boxes.

The mansion was delivered with the conservation board's final report; the record reads as "restoration faithful to the original identity." The building was strengthened for seismic capacity without disturbing original texture, and was brought up to modern living standards. The owner today uses the mansion both as a residence and as a boutique event venue.