Morphological Analysis of Tea Factories as Industrial Structures

Abstract

With the establishment of the Republic and the momentum generated by the Industrial Revolution —the most significant cultural, economic, social, and physical transformation of the era—industrialization activities in Anatolia accelerated rapidly and played a decisive role in shaping cities and societies. As major industrial enterprises in the Eastern Black Sea Region, tea factories have persisted not only as products of industrialization but also as core components of the modernization program. Although initially located outside the urban core, these large, multifunctional buildings gradually became focal points of settlements and significantly influenced urban growth and development decisions. In addition to shaping urban morphology and skyline, tea factories contribute perceptually and semantically to collective memory by reflecting the history of the built environment, as well as economic, technological, and industrial development processes. The literature review indicates that, despite their economic and ideological significance during the Republican period, tea factories remain insufficiently represented in academic studies. In response to this gap, the study aims to systematically analyze the multidimensional morphological impacts of tea factories on the formation and transformation of settlement patterns in the Eastern Black Sea Region. The study area consists of nine factory settlements with reliable data, located along the coastal belt of Trabzon, Rize, and Artvin, where tea cultivation is most intensive. Within this framework, morphological analyses supported by conceptual maps and tables were conducted to examine figure–ground ratios, spatial boundaries, relational patterns, and the effects of factories on the urban silhouette. The findings demonstrate that tea factories, embedded in collective memory, function as tangible expressions of Republican ideology and play a significant role in shaping urban morphology, skyline, and the social, cultural, and economic life of their regions. The study is expected to contribute to efforts aimed at identifying, evaluating, and safeguarding the historical and social values of tea factories