Historical electrical transformers in Bursa and the conservation of electrical industrial heritage

Abstract

The Industrial Revolution, one of the most important developments of the nineteenth century, affected the Ottoman Empire as well as the whole world. Energy, transportation and production facilities have been built to meet the needs at various points in Anatolia. Bursa, the first capital of the Ottoman Empire, was also affected by this process. In Bursa, factories related to sericulture, electrical power plants, water and windmills, railway lines were built. These structures, which have lost their function over time due to reasons such as the change in technology and the diversification of needs, are on the verge of disappearing with the lack of function. With this study, it is aimed to document the transformer structures that constitute the industrial heritage in Bursa. A scope has been determined that includes proposals for the conservation and re-functioning. The methodology is based on the observation and documentation of the buildings with their surroundings. An extensive archive search was carried out to find out the old drawings and photos of the buildings in archives such as Presidency of the Republic of Turkiye Directorate of State Archives. Within the scope of this process, the electrical transformers were documented and conservation proposals were developed.