Akaretler Row Houses/W Hotel

Located at the center of Istanbul’s business and hotel district, Akaretler Row Houses were originally built in 1875 by Sarkis Balyan by the order of Sultan Abdülaziz, as an annex to the magnificent Domalbahçe Palace (residence of the Ottoman emperors). The first housing compound project for the Ottoman Empire, the houses represented one of the early cultural steps toward Westernization within the empire in the first quarter of the 19th century. This change is most evident in the neoclassical facade, lacking the influence of the previous baroque and rococo styles. The mixed-use project includes 34 businesses occupying 14,399 square meters (154,990 sf) of office space, 19,436 square meters (209,207 sf) of high-end shops and restaurants, 23 single-family housing units, 21 multifamily housing units, and a 134-room upscale hotel.