In this project, the design of a contemporary version of the historic khan for new arrivals in present-day Istanbul is explored through architectural research. The research for this project focused on three aspects: (1) Istanbul, a tumultuous city between the east and west as the context. (2) The migrant trying to make his way in the city as the user. (3) The Khan, or han in Turkish, an architectural legacy specific to old Istanbul as the building type.

The khan is the urban variant of the caravanserai: a roadside-inn for merchants and travellers along long-distance trade routes in the Middle East and Asia. As khans are no longer in use for lodging of merchants, these mystique historical buildings are in threat of deterioration.

The project explores how the khans concepts can be transformed to a contemporary reinterpretation. In this reinterpretation, the khan is a place for arrivals: migrants who recently came to Istanbul in search of work, drawing parallels with the past use of khans. The contemporary khan offers temporary housing and a base for finding work in order for migrants to build up a future in Istanbul. The architectural design does not only play with the architectural legacy of the khan typology, but also with the existing urban fabric of Istanbul as well of the ruins of a former flour factory.