TÜSİAD Building
The building Tepebaşı, TÜSİAD's headquarters, dates back to the 1800's, when a French citizen named “Joseph Baudouy” comes to Istanbul to find a job and work. “Monsieur Baudouy” does various construction work to start with and then he gets rich enough to acquire the monopoly from the government to construct the vessel lighthouses in all the seas under the Ottoman Empire.
Thanks to this project, he became even richer and for his own accommodation built the building known as the “Bodvi House” in the sightseeing tours of Tepebaşı. The building is located right at the heart of Pera, the once most favourite neighbourhood of İstanbul and its architecture is noteworthy. The two towers at both end and the different architectural characteristics at every floor are among some of the features.
White stones from Eskişehir were used in the building and, in the course of time, it wore out due to lack of maintenance. Over time, each floor of the building was leased separately and the entrance floor was used as a sales point for Citroen vehicles.
During Bedrettin Dalan's office as the mayor in 1986 and the Chairmanship of the Board of Directors of the departed Sakıp Sabancı, the building was purchased and with the supervision of Güler Sabancı, a Board member, the building’s restoration undertaken by Tekfen Holding was completed in the year 1992. TÜSİAD moved to the building in 1993. Architect Süreyya Saruhan worked in the restoration. The facades of the house were maintained through restitution and the inner layer was renovated by steel construction.
The TÜSİAD building requires continuous maintenance because of the stone facade, and it is a significant component contributing to the historical pattern of the quarter.
