[1][2] The place Moda in Kadıköy became an outstanding residential area only after the 1870s, when first wealthy non-Muslim families, like the bankers Lorando and Tubini and later the Whittall and Lafontain, settled down by building their own mansions.

[1] The building is situated within a large garden surrounded with a 3 m (9.8 ft)-high masonry stone wall.Entrance to the premises was originally through two iron gates, one of which was for service.

The monumental entrance featuring four marble columns with Ionic capitals is reached from the street by a crescent-shaoed mosaic-paved and marble-walled walkway.

The servant living in the basement used a service staircase, which was connected to the kitchen, the central hall and the stairhead of each upstair floors.

[1] During the Occupation of Istanbul (1918 – 1923) by the Allied troops of the World War I, British forces evacuated the mansion, and handed over to the Armenians to be used as a primary school for more than two years.