The museum is located in the suburb of Hasköy on the northern shore of the Golden Horn and situated in two historical buildings connected to each other.

The Koç Foundation bought the first museum building in 1991, which was left derelict and seriously damaged after a roof fire in 1984.

This building (in Turkish: Lengerhane), was initially used for casting anchors and chains for the Ottoman Navy, during the rule of Sultan Ahmed III (1703–1730).

The Koç Foundation spent two and a half years for the restoration work of this Class II category historical monument.

This new section was a disused historical dockyard, founded in 1861 by the Ottoman maritime company Şirket-i Hayriye for the maintenance and reparation works of its own ships.