Architecture of Turkey

Architecture of Turkey or Turkish Architecture in the Republican Period refers to the architecture practised in the territory of present-day Turkey since the foundation of the republic in 1923. In the first years of the republic, Turkish architecture was influenced by Seljuk and Ottoman architecture, in particular during the First National Architectural Movement (also called the Turkish Neoclassical architecture movement.) However, starting from the 1930s, architectural styles began to differ from traditional architecture, also as a result of an increasing number of foreign architects being invited to work in the country, mostly from Germany and Austria. The Second World War was a period of isolation, during which the Second National Architectural Movement emerged. Similar to Fascist architecture, the movement aimed to create a modern but nationalistic architecture.

Starting from the 1950s, isolation from the rest of the world began to diminish, which enabled the Turkish architects to experiment with new styles and become increasingly inspired by their counterparts in the rest of the world. However, they were largely constrained by the lack of technological infrastructure or insufficient financial resources until the 1980s. Thereafter, the liberalization of the economy and the shift towards export-led growth paved the way for the private sector to become the leading influence on architecture in Turkey.

1920s to early 1930s: First national architectural movement
The First National Architectural Movement (Turkish: Birinci Ulusal Mimarlık Akımı) was an architectural movement led by Turkish architects Vedat Tek (1873–1942) and Mimar Kemaleddin Bey (1870–1927). Followers of the movement wanted to create a new and “national” architecture, which was based on motifs from Seljuk and Ottoman architecture. The movement was also labelled Turkish Neoclassical architecture, or the National Architectural Renaissance. Other prominent followers of this movement were Arif Hikmet Koyunoğlu (1888–1982) and Giulio Mongeri (1873–1953). Notable buildings from this era are the Istanbul Main Post Office (1905–1909), Tayyare Apartments (1919–1922), Istanbul 4th Vakıf Han (1911–1926), State Art and Sculpture Museum (1927–1930), Ethnography Museum of Ankara (1925–1928), Bebek Mosque, and Kamer Hatun Mosque.

First National Architecture Movement
The most prominent feature of this architectural style called Architectural Kemaleddin and Vedat Tek, called “Neoclassical Turkish Style” or “National Architectural Renaissance” in the first stage but later called “First National Architecture Movement”, is the most prominent feature of both local and classical Ottoman constructions architectural items and ornaments. Unlike classical Ottoman architecture, architectural items such as dome and fringe, which were formerly used only in religious buildings, were frequently used in all kinds of public buildings during the First National Architecture Movement. However, the effect of this movement was limited to public buildings only. This flow has also been given names such as “Ottoman Enlightenment” and “New Ottomanism”.

1930s to 1950s: Modernism and the influence of foreign architects
The Bauhaus style Florya Atatürk Marine Mansion (1935) and the Art Deco style Ankara Central Station (1937) are among the notable examples of this era. As there were not enough architects in Turkey until the 1950s, various architects were invited by the government from Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France, in order to manage the rapid construction of the new capital Ankara. About 40 architects and urban planners designed and oversaw various projects (mostly in Ankara, and to a lesser extent in Istanbul and Izmir) between 1924 and 1942. Among them were Gudrun Baudisch, Rudolf Belling, Paul Bonatz, Ernst Arnold Egli, Martin Elsaesser, Anton Hanak, Franz Hillinger, Clemens Holzmeister, Henri Prost, Paolo Vietti-Violi, Werner Issel, Hermann Jansen, Theodor Jost, Heinrich Krippel, Carl Christoph Lörcher, Robert Oerley, Bernhard Pfau, Bruno Taut and Josef Thorak.

Second national architectural movement
Inspired by the design characteristics of Fascist architecture in Italy and Nazi architecture in Germany, which sought a modern interpretation of Neoclassical architecture (i.e. the architecture of a modern era Roman Empire, according to their ideologies), there was a trend towards creating a new national architecture in Turkey around the 1940s. The movement was called the Second National Architectural Movement (Turkish: İkinci Ulusal Mimarlık Akımı). The large number of foreign architects employed in Turkey in this period (especially from Germany and Austria) was a major factor in the introduction of these architectural movements and their stylistical characteristics. The pioneers of the movement in Turkey were Sedad Hakkı Eldem and Emin Onat. In order to lead this movement, Sedad Hakkı Eldem, who was a professor, held National Architecture seminars at the Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts, focusing on the traditional Turkish house styles.

Early republican modernism
Buildings built in the 1930s and not accepted in the National Architecture Movement were also built. One of these projects, which included both traditional items and modern architectural elements, was the Ankara Train Station. Designed by Şekip Akalın and built between 1935 and 1937, this railway station was built in 1891 instead of the old railway station, which was no longer sufficient for the demands of the period. It is one of the first examples of architectural practices in Ankara that are common in the 1930s.

Foreign architects in Early Republican period
which is a newly established state due to Ankara, the capital of the Republic of Turkey was born of the need to build new administrative buildings in this city. Despite the need, some of these projects were built by architects from Europe since 1927, due to the lack of sufficient domestic architects. Germany, Austria, a total of 40 architects and urban planners from France and Switzerland between 1942 and 1924, signed by many projects in Turkey. Among these architects and city planners are Gudrun Baudisch, Rudolf Belling, Paul Bonatz, Ernst Arnold Egli, Martin Elsaesser, Anton Hanak, Franz Hillinger, Clemens Holzmeister, Werner Issel, Hermann Jansen, Theodor Jost, Heinrich Krippel, Carl Christoph Lörcher, Robert Oerley, Bernhard Pfau, Bruno Taut and Josef Thorak. There are architectural critics who describe this period, beginning from the foundation of the Republic until the 1940s, or even later, as European avant-garde.

The Second National Architecture Movement
The economic turmoil of the Second World War and the difficulties such as the necessity of bringing the necessary building materials from abroad due to war have been experienced and this turn of the 1940s and continuing in the 1950s is called the Second National Architecture Movement. There are architectural critics who call this period “New Regionalism”.

In the mid-1930s, it seemed to be in front of modern architecture, as it was in Western countries. Architect historians describe this period as the 2nd National Architectural Movement. Turkey reflected in the current period, it is possible to say that the impact of the architects of having a good relationship with Turkey to Germany and German speaking… in Turkey during this period also seems to benefit from the traditional elements. It is thought that national architecture can only be created by traditional roots from the past. National architecture is being reproduced in a constantly changing process in the original context of political, economic, social and cultural formations, and can be interpreted only in such a contextual context, instead of scientific and formal limitations. Despite all the meanings attributed to national identity, architectural production actually has an international character. The architectural production of the 1930s and 1940s clearly exemplifies how international efforts to create a nation are indeed an international effort.

1950s and more Western influence
At the beginning of the 1950s, a new generation of architects such as Nevzat Erol, Turgut Cansever, Abdurrahman Hancı, Cengiz Bektaş, Hayati Tabanlıoğlu, Enver Tokay, İlhan Tayman and Yılmaz Sanlı became more influential in the architectural arena. These were architects who either studied in Europe or had information of the modernist architecture of the time. Their quest for modernist architecture was in line with the International Style and Rationalism. However, the development of the Turkish economy was an important factor as well. Even though Turkish architects were able to follow up on the modern design of important architects of the time, they were constrained by the lack of technological infrastructure or insufficient financial resources.

Organization of architects
The organization of architects is based on the establishment of the Republic of Turkey before. In the Ottoman Empire period, the Hassa Architects’ Quarry, which means “Architects” connected to the Sarayı, was the first organization of architecture on these lands. An architectural association in modern sense was the Ottoman Engineer and Architects Society founded in 1908 by the leadership of Mimar Kemaleddin Bey. In addition, since 1909, especially the architects of Istanbul were organized under the Fine Arts Association. After the establishment of the Republic of Turkey founded in 1928 Turkish Association of Architects (later Association of Architects As he changed his name) was the first organization in the architects’ association status in Turkey.

Qualified architectural practices in the 1950s
One of the most recognizable examples of this period was the design by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM), an American architectural firm ; in consultation with the local I get Sedat Hakkı located in the Harbiye Elmadag with that made by, opened in 1955, Turkey’s first 5-star hotel in Istanbul Hilton Hotel ‘is. This structure in Turkey ‘s international style is considered as one of the important examples. However, Sedat Öldem, one of the representatives of the Second National Architecture Movement, made a design for SOM along with SOM, which led some architects to criticize “identity bias”. In addition, the impact of this project from the 1950s in Turkey even starting to show, especially to the US, Western origin are important symbols of modern architecture movement.

1960s
Following the 1960 coup d’état, Turkey endured various kinds of political and economic crises which affected the construction industry as well as the architectural sector. Despite these hardships, architects were able to design some important buildings. Abandoning Rationalism, Turkish architects tried to design their buildings in more flexible and fragmented forms. Important works from this period are the Vakıflar Hotel in Istanbul (1968, today the Ceylan Intercontinental Hotel), Middle East Technical University Campuses (1961) in Ankara, Istanbul Manufacturers’ Market (1959), Turkish Historical Society Building (1967), Grand Ankara Hotel (1960, today the Rixos Grand Ankara Hotel) and Atatürk Cultural Center (1969) in Istanbul.

As a result of economic and social turbulence, architecture in Turkey suffered also in the 1970s. There were no significant breakthroughs during this period. Some important designs from the 1970s are the Turkish Language Association Building (1972), Atatürk Library (1973) and Abdi İpekçi Arena (1979).

Away from the Rationalism
One of the most important features of the 1960s is that structures constructed during this period are moved away from the rationalism style. In 1960, in line with global developments, the architect of Turkey also show the trend away from these styles and more fragmented and began to turn to mobile format.

1970s
In the 1970s in Turkey architectural practice in the world of modern architecture and postmodern architecture they were affected by the developments in the flow. The main element that marked this turmoil was the turbulent political atmosphere and excessive population growth of the period. However, 1970 did not constitute a major turning point in the architecture and building culture in Turkey. These were the periods in which problems, differentiations, and searches began in the 1950s and 1960s. There was no significant break in architecture in this period.

The acceleration of unplanned urbanization
The rate of migration to cities that started in the 1950s and accelerated in the 1960s increased even more in the 1970s. In these periods, both the housing deficit in the big cities where long-term planning has not been done and the illegal structures and gecekondal cities have spread widely due to the fact that the authorities and institutions and the local governments do not take adequate measures. Such a distorted urbanizationHe struck his stamp in the 1970s much more. This was due to the fact that the construction of apartment buildings was dominated by city buildings, and that state structures that were not monotonous and architectural in style were becoming more widespread. This process, which started in the 1950s and accelerated in the 1960s, accelerated even more in the 1980s and gained a different dimension from the amnesty brought to the gecekondals.

Noteworthy architectural applications
One of the most valuable examples of this period is the building of the Turkish Language Institute designed by Cengiz Bektas. This project was built in Ankara between 1972 and 1978, financed by the Ministry of Public Works and Settlement, and won the National Achievement Award from the National Architecture Awards in 1988.

1980s and 1990s
In January 1980, the government of Prime Minister Süleyman Demirel began implementing a far-reaching reform program designed by then Undersecretary of the Prime Ministry Turgut Özal to shift Turkey’s economy toward export-led growth. These reforms had a positive effect on the construction industry and architecture. New methods such as prefabrication and curtain wall systems were introduced to Turkish architects and contractors in the 1980s. In addition, steel, aluminum, plastic and glass production increased, which allowed architects to free themselves from rigid forms.

New architectural styles and practices
The process that has been taking place since 1990s has been a period in which different architects have begun to experiment in different styles, both due to globalization and the widespread use of the internet. This trend, which started in tourism structures mainly in the first stage, has been widespread in other building types. Moreover, the increasing dominance of the private sector by architecture from the 1960s onwards increased even more during this period.

Although the direct contribution to the urban identity has not yet been established, the practice of differentiating from the apartment typology, which began in the 1950s and did not have the typical architectural characteristics that were common until the late 1980s, began to increase in this period. These new searches showed themselves mainly on the façades as they were constricted constructions in a narrow and specific area. There have not been many significant contemporary architectural applications in mass housing applications that have become widespread in this period. The predominant part of the built housing was built with repetitive facades and plan schemes.

Another architectural style that began to become widespread in this period was the use of modern facade systems. The availability of new facade materials in the construction sector, which started in the 1980s but grew even further in the 1990s, allowed different facade systems. However, these practices have also been criticized for having a low technological profile, not being creative and original.

Outside the cities, housing and fires in the houses
Those living in the cities of the world’s industrialized countries, especially the top earners, subsequent escape reflex in response to the nomads out of the city, did not occur until the 1980s in Turkey. One of the reasons for this was that the areas in the city walls were covered with gecekondular. The second reason was that these areas were not in the status of urban land until the 1982 amnesty and shanty pardon. After 1982, the spread of satellite cities accelerated. However, in this context, some transactions to be applied to the contrary to the legislation of the Construction and Gecekondu, No. 2981, which was declared as the main turning point in 1984 and which is also referred to as the slum for the period, and Law No. 6785 on the Amendment of the Article It was created.

Another development related to this issue is the Law on Public Housing No. 2487 which was issued in 1981. Another noteworthy development is the establishment of the Public Housing and Public Partnership Administration, also known as TOKİ in 1984.

Nostalgic neighborhoods and suburban settlements, predominantly financed by the private sector, have become particularly popular for high-income groups since the early 1990s. Kemer Country was the first known of these suburban settlements living behind closed sites in Istanbul. Another form of construction that began in the 1990s and accelerated in the 2000s was also high-rise structures marketed with parks, landscaping, terraces and pools.

With the development of domestic tourism in the 1960s, predominantly the Aegean Sea and Mediterranean coastal housing developments have accelerated in the 1980s and 1990s due to the changes and amendments made. During this period too many projects were not built with the local architect or the modern architect identified. However, some architects such as Ersen Gürsel and Mehmet Çubuk have been successful project projects for tourism purposes.

From the 2000s to the present day
Especially in Turkey, including Istanbul architecture influenced the global context, particularly the increase in the acceleration of the information flow and capital together with the spread of the Internet since the 2000s. These changes have had more impact on the physical and social texture of Istanbul, especially the capital. This process is still underway, developments in the field of architecture in Turkey in recent years can be summarized as follows:

One of the phenomena brought by globalization is the design of structures of different genres for different purposes to architects of foreign origin, which is parallel to developments in the world, especially in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Unlike the early years of the Republic of Turkey in this period, not because they need foreign architects also they were selected because they preferred. In 2005, the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality opened design competitions in the development areas of Kartal and Büyükçekmece and these competitions were organized by Zaha Hadid and Ken Yeang’s win, the next process in a foreign architects in Turkey, unlike the early years of the Republic, they set an example to contribute to the architecture of the country. In addition, the Suna Kirac Cultural Center, designed by Frank Gehry for Istanbul’s Tepebaşı Semti, will be a distinct example.

From 2000’s onwards, the need for new spaces to meet both local and global capital requirements has increased. One of the most concrete reflections of this is the change that has been made by Büyükdere Caddesi in the city of Sisli in Istanbul in recent years. Doğan Tekeli and Sami Sisa designed by the Business Towers, , Haluk Tümay and Ayhan in Boke designed by Sabanci Center, Swanke Hayden Connell Architects designed by Tekfen Tower, Doğan Tekeli and Sami designed by Sisa MetroCity, Jerde Partnershipand Tabanlıoğlu Architecture designed by Canyon, Tabanlıoğlu designed by Architecture Levent Loft, Emre Arolat Architecture and Tabanlıoğlu designed by Architecture Zorlu Center project such as this street is Turkey’s busiest skyscrapers and a maximum grade of offices brought into the regions where. In this street, and the tallest building in Turkey was completed in March 2011 and rises 261 meters and designed by Architecture Tabanlıoğlu Sapphire of Istanbul ‘stop. In addition, the planned construction of the Ataşehir regionIf the Istanbul Financial Center project is completed, it is expected that a similar transformation will take place on the Anatolian side of Istanbul, and many skyscrapers will be constructed in this vicinity. [one hundred]

Modern mosque constructions in contemporary Turkish architecture started to increase after 2000’s. Among these examples are the Yesilvadi Mosque in Istanbul and designed by Adnan Kazmaoğlu ; Doğramacızade Ali Sami Pasha Mosque in Ankara and designed by Erkut Şahinbaş ; Derinkuyu Park Mosque in Nevşehir and designed by Atamulu ; Situated in Istanbul and Khosrov Tayla designed by Shakir Mosque and located in Düzce and Ergun Bywater designed by Akcakoca Central Mosque shown.

Contribution to Turkey in the next period of the 2000s architecture of public buildings is both positive and negative criticism. One of the negative criticisms of this process is that some new projects are influenced by the Ottoman or Seljuk architecture but they are structures that blend modern architectural materials with postmodern ease but do not create a specific architectural language. At the beginning of the positive criticism is the abandonment of the classic rectangular prism and the flat facade formation in the design of the public projects in the last years, the heavy design of the architectural design.

In recent years, it has become widespread to use facade and form forms that are more mobile (inclined, hollow / full, inclined) besides orthogonal and classic prism forms as architectural forms. In addition, the construction of mixed-function structures instead of projects with a single function has increased in recent years. many Turkish architects during this period were realized in Turkey is not only the design outside of Turkey. Libya, Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Balkan countries are at the beginning of these countries.

Beginning in the 2000s that architectural education in Turkey was an increase in the number of universities. While the architecture education was given in 11 educational institutions in 1990, the number of Faculty of Architecture increased to 41 in 2009. In this period, restoration work became more systematic. With the legal legislation that took place in 2004, the condition of restoration work of all kinds was introduced. Although a considerable increase in practice and appropriation compared to previous years is considered a positive development, it has also been criticized in this process that architects’ transfer of copyrights to projects and limitation of supervisory powers.

The preservation of the architecture of the Republican period

The majority of the 1920 ‘s day – to – day structures are under threat of demolition because they have been identified, assessed, and declared cultural assets by official bodies. Although some early Republican architectural works are conservation-oriented, some experts have argued that such a tendency to protect architecture is lacking and that a different approach should be introduced. The first and most important step in this change of approach is the cultural heritageis a more comprehensive document of periodic architectural products bearing the same character. In addition, there are not enough legal regulations on establishing criteria for granting cultural heritage qualifications, method development and legal statutes, and there are legal gaps as it is. The third factor is that there are no effective measures against the destruction of the cultural heritage possibilities when there is a consensus on the nature of these structures being discussed or in the course of the legal process. Some of the structures destined to be demolished or demolished include:

Turkey’s first skyscraper designed by Enver Tokay and the Red Crescent Emek Building buildings are required to be destroyed by the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality.
It is the AKM building which is located in the Taksim district of Istanbul, which is a famous structure of the modern architecture. It is also frequent that this structure is destroyed instead of being restored.
One of the most important examples of rationalism in Turkey Sakarya Government Office, 1999 İzmit earthquake ‘was destroyed in the grounds has become uninhabitable, a town square and the underground car park was built instead.
Dogan Tekeli, Sami Sisa and Text Hepgüler designed by Istanbul Textile Traders’ Market, in accordance with the master plan approved on September 22, 2005, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and Eminönü was to be demolished by the municipality. However, when the decision of the 6th Office of the State Council was rejected by the Council of State Administrative Litigation Board in 2010, this demolition decision was not made.

Source From Wikipedia