The SEKA Paper Museum, a.k.a. SEKA Mehmet Ali Kağıtçı Paper Museum ( tr, SEKA Kağıt Müzesi or ''SEKA Mehmet Ali Kağıtçı Kağıt Müzesi''), is a museum of industrial heritage in Kocaeli district (''İzmit''), northwestern Turkey. Situated in a former
pulp and paper mill
A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt ...
, it is dedicated to papermaking in Turkey. The museum was opened in 2016.
Background
Construction of the pulp and paper mill began with groundbreaking on August 18, 1934. The mill was built as part of the industrialization efforts during the early years of modern Turkey. The first domestic paper was produced on April 18, 1936. Named ''Sümerbank İzmit Kağıt ve Karton Fabrikası'' (Sümerbank İzmit Paper and Cardboard Mill), it officially went into production, with an annual capacity of 12,000 tons, on November 6, 1936. Turkey's first paper engineer, Mehmet Ali Kağıtçı, played a major role in the foundation of the paper mill. On June 21, 1955, it was renamed ''Türkiye Sellükoz ve Kağıt Fabrikaları'' (Turkish Cellulose and Paper Mills). In 1997, the state-owned mill was listed for privatization and investment ceased. Paper production came to a halt in 2005, and it was transferred to the Metropolitan Municipality of Kocaeli. The word ''SEKA'' is a
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words
Museum
Exactly 80 years after its establishment, the mill was redeveloped into a museum by the Metropolitan Municipality of Kocaeli on November 6, 2016. It is the country's first, and the world's largest, paper museum, and it is named after the founder of the mill, Mehmet Ali Kağıtçı. The museum consists of 16 halls in a four-story building, constructed on an area of . The museum contains 115 displays containing 443 documents, 337 objects and many photos, painstakingly selected from tens of thousands.Machinery and equipment used in the papermaking process are an essential part of the museum. Five printing machines were repaired and are on display, one of which worked continuously for 70 years. The museum also contains workshops for traditional papermaking, paper craft and paper art such as
origami
) is the Japanese art of paper folding. In modern usage, the word "origami" is often used as an inclusive term for all folding practices, regardless of their culture of origin. The goal is to transform a flat square sheet of paper into a f ...
,
kirigami
is a variation of origami, the Japanese art of folding paper. In , the paper is cut as well as being folded, resulting in a three-dimensional design that stands away from the page. typically does not use glue.
Overview
In the United States, t ...
miniature art
Miniature art includes paintings, engravings and sculptures that are very small; it has a long history that dates back to prehistory. The portrait miniature is the most common form in recent centuries, and from ancient times, engraved gems, of ...
paper marbling
Paper marbling is a method of aqueous surface design, which can produce patterns similar to smooth marble or other kinds of stone. The patterns are the result of color floated on either plain water or a viscous solution known as size, and then ca ...
. There are sculptures created from recycled materials.
In a hall in the building's basement, the social life at the SEKA mill is narrated. The ground floor contains a lobby,
turbine
A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced by a turbine can be used for generating ...
cleaning
Cleaning is the process of removing unwanted substances, such as dirt, infectious agents, and other impurities, from an object or environment. Cleaning is often performed for aesthetic, hygienic, functional, environmental, or safety purposes ...
, paper machine hall, Mehmed Ali Kâğıtçı Memorial Hall, temporary exhibition hall and greenhouse for plants used in papermaking. The two halls of the first floor are for pulp preparation and printing. On the second floor, there are two halls for high-density pulp towers and a screen room.
A cloakroom, gift shops, cafeteria and restaurant are found in the entrance section of the museum.