Built on Trust

Listen to This Article

In 2015, Enis Karavil ’06 was chasing his dream, working and studying interior architecture in London and collecting kudos for redesigning his own home there.  

But in their regular phone calls, Amir Karavil ’10 could tell that his brother was missing home. “One day,” he says, “I told him to pack his suitcase and come back to Istanbul, taking the first plane.” 

The move led to more than a family reunion. Within months, the pair launched Sanayi313, an architecture and design studio that artfully brings together each brother’s skill set. 

“Enis is an artist and has always been an artist. I walk beside him down this path to help him carry out his business more comfortably,” says Amir, who is also a principal at the manufacturing company their father started. 

Their shared venture, located in Istanbul’s industrial district of Sanayi, comprises a design studio, a canteen and a curated shop for furniture and home accessories. It keeps an international clientele connected through a newsletter, focused on creativity and contemporary culture and edited by Amir’s wife, Sidni.  

Enis (far right) serves as creative director. “Having grown up in a city where East meets West in every way, I’m always drawn to a coordinated fusion of the two and inspired by the harmony of their contrasts.” 

He notes the “swings and roundabouts” of working with family, but considers it “mostly highly beneficial. You already know and trust the person with whom you start a business.” 

Adds Amir: “It feels like home: sincere and full of trust.”  

One upcoming project has special significance. The company will build a boutique hotel and serviced apartments on a derelict property in Balat, one of the oldest districts in Istanbul. Enis and Amir had bought the land while students at Bentley.  

Editor’s Note: Writing in February, Enis Karavil noted that Istanbul is far from the earthquake site in southeastern Turkey, but “on a psychological level we are devastated by this disaster as a whole nation.”