Casa Botter Reborn: How Istanbul’s First Art Nouveau Masterpiece Was Restored and Reopened

Casa Botter Reborn

Perched above the shops on İstiklal Avenue, one of Istanbul’s busiest pedestrian streets, the Botter Apartment — known today as Casa Botter — has been returned from near-ruin to public life. Aided by a careful conservation project led by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, the 1901 Art Nouveau landmark has been transformed into an art and design center and a lively shared workspace.

From Sultan’s Gift to Architectural Landmark

Commissioned during the reign of Sultan Abdülhamid II and designed by Italian architect Raimondo D’Aronco, the Botter Apartment was built for the Sultan’s Dutch tailor, Jean Botter. Completed in 1901, it is widely regarded as Istanbul’s first Art Nouveau building. Its façade is noted for whiplash curves, floral ornamentation and sculpted Medusa-head details — hallmarks of the era’s style.

Early Modernity: Technology and Design

The building was also technically forward-looking: it was the first steel-framed apartment building in Turkey and, after the Pera Palace Hotel, likely one of the earliest residential structures in the country with an elevator — a visible sign of modern urban life rising above the crowded streets below.

“The story of the Botter Apartment is an abridged history of Istanbul’s modernization,”

— Emrah Temizkan, journalist

Decline and Rescue

After the upheavals of the Balkan Wars and World War I, Pera’s cosmopolitan life dwindled. The Botter family sold the property in 1917 and relocated to Paris; over the following decades the building fell into neglect. By the 21st century, the façade and interiors had suffered severe water damage, broken windows and rot.

That changed in 2021, when the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality began a meticulous restoration guided by a minimal-intervention philosophy. Conservators removed layers of paint and plaster to reveal original colors, conserved metalwork instead of replacing it, and retained evidence of the building’s long history rather than creating a sterile replica.

From Private Atelier to Public Cultural Hub

When the lower floors reopened in April 2023 as the Casa Botter Art and Design Center, public response was immediate. Although the municipality initially planned to use the upper floors as offices, high visitor demand organically transformed them into communal workspace used by students, remote workers and creatives.

Merve Gedik, architect and projects manager for Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Heritage, describes the outcome as a successful reimagining of a private status symbol into a shared civic asset: “The structure spontaneously started to gain a new function. This is very satisfying, as it shows that when an area becomes public, it gains its own usage habits organically. We didn’t force it.”

What To See Inside

Visitors should look for the elliptical elevator nested within the ornate ironwork of the main staircase — a striking reminder of the building’s architectural and technological innovations. The restored rooms offer a layered narrative of late-Ottoman style, European influences and modern civic reuse.

Context: Pera’s Architectural Landscape

Casa Botter is one entry point into a richer architectural story across the Tünel–Taksim corridor: the Mısır Apartment (Misir Apartmanı) with its early reinforced-concrete structure, the Ravouna 1906 Suites, the historic Çiçek Pasajı (Flower Passage), and the Neoclassical and Neo-Baroque façades of Grand Pera and Azaryan Apartment. These buildings trace the city’s late-Ottoman embrace of European design and the later First National Architectural Movement led by architects such as Mimar Kemaleddin and Vedat Tek.

Practical Information: Casa Botter Art and Design Center is open to the public on İstiklal Caddesi (İstiklal Avenue). The restored building now operates as a cultural venue and flexible co-working space, inviting both locals and visitors to rediscover a once-forgotten landmark.

Note: This article is adapted from reporting that originally appeared in a travel series. The facts presented here reflect the building’s documented history and the restoration work completed by municipal authorities.