New Uses for Old Buildings: The case of ‘Soğukçeşme’ Street, İstanbul, Turkey

İstanbul has served as the capital of three great empires and is a cultural centre of outstanding importance not only for Turkey but also for the world as a whole. Its historical and cultural heritage should be fully exploited and its inheritance carefully preserved to serve as an inspiration to future generations. The most effective way of lending educational end inspirational significance to the old buildings that fall into this category is to convert each one of them into a living entity. On the basis of these arguments, this article aims to explore changes to important examples of such original buildings over time and how to convert them to suit contemporary usage values.