Pe-Re-Ja Cologne Factory: Industrial Decentralization and Organization of Labour Power in Istanbul

Erdem Üngür | Pe-Re-Ja Cologne Factory is one of the latest buildings of the famous Turkish architect Seyfi Arkan. It was opened on July 9, 1967 by the prime minister Süleyman Demirel, almost one year after the death of the architect. The history of the factory is exemplary for the decentralization of industry at that time and the post-Prost urban transformation of Istanbul via D-100 Highway. Pe-Re-Ja also allows us to speculate on the new subjectification of the working class via spatial organization and makes the labour struggle during import substituting industrialization period visible. Although partly demolished and transformed into a sports shop, the building still exist* on D-100 Highway in Bahçelievler in spite of the heavy urban transformation around. * The building was demolished shortly after the article was written and submitted.