The concept of authenticity in the protection of industrial heritage : the case of Samsun Tobacco Factory Building

Abstract

The gradual changes in almost all aspects of life brought about by the industrial developments left their spatial and social traces. These sometimes revolutionary variations have inscribed their identity in entire cities. The protection of these traces lies behind the protective thought and activities for cultural heritages. Industrial heritage, as one of the important constituents of the cultural heritage, has become a central issue for the world heritage protection activities. Within a historical perspective, through the late 18th and 19th centuries’ Industrial Revolution, all production processes and methods have seen radical changes and the new industrial technology affected the factories and manufacturing sites. These changes, however, were not confined to these past centuries. The rapid advancements in industry continued to force adjustments of these industrial sites or brought their abandonments. Today, there are many studies, groups, conferences, thus a powerful discourse upon the protection and re-evaluation of industrial heritage. In the protection and re-evaluation process, “authenticity” appears as an important concept. With this in mind, this study investigates the importance of authenticity within the concept of collective memory and analyses its status in the process of the industrial heritage protection in architecture. Through the case study of Samsun Tobacco Factory (1886), which was turned into a shopping mall in 2012, these arguments are developed and the analysis is made. This study aims to put a special emphasis on such sites as a value for the socio-cultural dynamics and historical sustainability of the urban life and bring a criticism upon their commercialized re-evaluation and reuse that may create incompatibilities with the spatial/architectural authenticity and with the collective memory of a city.