MİMARLIK AGENDA

Chamber of Architects Towards the Second Century / Yavuz Önen

“Since the day we were founded, our organized and solidaristic stance in the face of events has shown that we can resist under any circumstances. We are strong enough to reclaim our professional rights from those who have taken them away. We will turn the darkness that has engulfed this country into light. We carry the weight of the pain we have experienced for various reasons—but we also carry courage, hope, determination to fight, and anger.”

“As architects lived through the organizational journey outlined above, along with the social, political, and cultural environments they were part of, how did they witness what was happening within the Chamber of Architects? How did they act in the face of it to become targets of the established order’s reckless practices? Regardless of the differences across periods and the diversity in leadership styles, there are answers we can give from a broader perspective. They regarded architectural design as a space of professional freedom, concerning living environments. They said that architecture is an act shaped within a social environment that evolves from the individual to the collective, and that it carries the responsibility of promoting both physical and mental well-being for all members of society. Architects envisioned buildings in relation to their surroundings—at the scale of neighborhoods, streets, districts, and cities. They intertwined the problems of the buildings with those of their people and country. They defended public spaces and public rights. They positioned themselves alongside the working class of society. In all these acts, they took science, reason, professional ethics, and human rights as their guiding principles. Like in education and healthcare, they held the state responsible of solving the housing problem. The demanded that home ownership be freed from its role as a tool of security and profit.”

EVENT

• Protecting with Persistence and Hope: 7th National Symposium on Architectural Conservation Projects and Practices / Deniz Sena Eyüpgiller

The symposium organized by the Chamber of Architects to evaluate the processes of restoring structures and building complexes that constitute cultural heritage, guided by scientific criteria, and integrating them into our daily lives took place on September 22-23, 2023, at the Istanbul Metropolitan Branch of the Chamber of Architects.

• Designs Inspired by Nature as a Legacy for the Future / Asena Kumsal Şen Bayram

As part of the Legacy for the Future Program, seven design practices that have contributed to Turkey’s design culture were selected through an open call to create timeless furniture and objects that could be passed down through generations as “legacies,” centered around the themes of sustainability, longevity, and quality. The author notes that the “awareness and sensitivity” present throughout the process - from the open call to the exhibition- are themselves among the legacies this project leaves to the future.

FILE: TOWARDS THE SECOND CENTURY OF THE REPUBLIC

● Introduction

● Reflections on the Centennial by Recipients of the Mimar Sinan Grand Award in the National Architecture Awards / Doğan Tekeli, Sevinç Hadi

● Reflections on the Centennial by Recipients of the National Architecture Awards in the Building Category / Kerem Erginoğlu, Mehmet Kütükçüoğlu, Nurbin Paker, Hüseyin Kahvecioğlu, Dürrin Süer, Hasan Şener, Vedat Tokyay, Sedef Tunçağ, Ertuğ Uçar, Semra Uygur

● Reflections on the Centennial by Recipients of the Contribution to Architecture Award in the National Architecture Awards / Zeynep Ahunbay, Ali Cengizkan, Jale Erzen, Doğan Hasol, Ruşen Keleş, Aykut Köksal, Mehmet Özdoğan, Suha Özkan, Uğur Tanyeli, İlhan Tekeli

Throughout 2023, Mimarlık magazine decided to publish a series of articles under the title Towards the Second Century of the Republic, focusing on various aspects of the architecture of the period. In this context, Bülent Batuman described the magazine’s aim to evaluate the Republic’s first century in the opening issue of the year as follows: “The assessment we aim to undertake today will only be meaningful if it is not merely a depiction of the Republic’s first century, but rather an attempt to understand the qualities of the Republic as an ongoing process. The construction of a new century becomes possible only through an evaluation that takes into account both the historical specificities of the process and the Republic as a political ideal, with a roadmap shaped by what the Republic has cultivated—and what it has not.”

This assessment continued in subsequent issues with articles that examined the changing built environment of the country through a comprehensive lens—focusing on the era’s practices of “urbanization and planning”, as well as the “order of the countryside” during the period. It then moved on to address the architectural heritage of the Republican era and the challenges of ‘preservation.’ Following these foundational articles that helped shape the general framework of evaluation, the current issue’s File section has been compiled to provide a foundation for the envisioned roadmap, offering reflections that analyze the Republic’s century-long journey and link the past to the future by highlighting present-day issues. The structure of the File, which we hope will provide this ground, was guided by the question, ‘How has the Chamber of Architects, the main representative of architectural practice in Turkey, assessed the Republic’s century-long architectural experience?’

We decided that the most reliable way to overcome the difficulty of finding an answer to this broad question and presenting it to the reader with limited words would be to frame our inquiry around the 'National Architecture Awards' presented biennially by the Chamber of Architects since 1988. Within this framework, we invited selected architects to share their reflections on the 100-year legacy and future of architecture in the Republic. In this context, the File first presents the architects commemorated by the Chamber of Architects as part of its 'Commemoration Program,' followed by recipients of the 'Mimar Sinan Grand Award,' along with the award citations. We believe that these architects represent the production of the built environment from the early years of the Republic to the present, and that this list of awardees provides a picture of how the Chamber of Architects evaluates this legacy. The File begins with the list of architects included in the 'Commemoration Program' and selected examples of their work, followed by the list of 19 recipients of the Mimar Sinan Grand Award, and the responses of two of our architects to our call. We extended the same call to the architects of buildings that have received the 'Achievement Award in the Building Category'—granted since 1988 to works shaping Turkey’s contemporary built environment. The articles shared by ten architects in response form the next part of the File. We also extended a similar open call to the recipients of the 'Contribution to Architecture Award,' which recognizes individuals and institutions that have played a role in shaping the profession and culture of architecture, offering a comprehensive framework that encompasses both theoretical and practical production in the field. Of the 31 recipients from various disciplines who have contributed to the architectural field, the views of 10 who responded to our call are featured in the final part of the File.

We hope that the File, shaped by the responses to our calls, will offer insights into how architects and related professionals from different generations evaluate the history of architectural production in Turkey and what kind of predictions and hopes they hold for its future; while also offering a ground for reflecting on the built environment of the Republic as it marks its centennial.

Despite the challenge of comprehensively evaluating the built environment that has been produced, transformed, renewed, preserved, or lost over the course of a century, the contributions to the File by architects and participants from related disciplines notably emphasize the cultural, political, and economic contexts that define the broad boundaries of the architectural profession. Drawing attention to the role of administrators, capital or other social actors in the production of the built environment during the Republican era, this approach opens up discussion on how “contemporary” architectural production, shaped within the framework of the principles and values of the Republic with the aim of “public benefit”, has succumbed to ideological expectations or the goal of profit. The evaluations draw attention to the challenges faced by professionals who see living in a contemporary built environment as a right and define service to the city and society as their primary goal in an urban environment that has been transformed haphazardly, without vision, and rendered increasingly ordinary. On the other hand, there is still faith in the struggle for a better built environment in Turkey, which can be defined as a “land of architectures”. A century on, and we might say that what lies ahead is a 'century of repair.

With the hope that this File, which brings together the reflections of contributors who have shaped our profession through their work and experiences, will serve as a guide for rethinking a century of architectural production in the Republic and for setting our goals for its second century… Here's to many more hundreds of years to come.

File Editors: T. Elvan Altan, Şebnem Önal Hoşkara

ARCHITECTURE OF THE REPUBLICAN PERIOD

• The Transformative Power of Industry in an Anatolian Town: The Past and Present of the Adapazarı Sugar Factory / Hilal Erek İnce, Murat Gül

Examining how the Adapazarı Sugar Factory and its structures, which began operation in 1953, triggered the emergence of a modern socio-cultural environment within themselves and how this influence eventually extended beyond the factory's boundaries into urban life, the authors present the factory’s transformative impact on the city. Their study offers a multifaceted perspective, grounded in extensive literature research that includes both official and private archival materials.

• Shifting Traces, Vanishing Structures: The Transformation of the Samsun Railway under the 1960 Urban Development Plan / Evrim Düzenli

Built between 1924 and 1931 during the early Republican period, the Samsun-Çarşamba and Samsun-Sivas railway lines shaped the urban development of the areas they passed through, introducing new spatial needs and influencing local construction. With the implementation of the 1960 development plan, the railway was replaced by a highway, leading to new transportation practices within the city. The author examines the impact of this transformation on the railway corridor and the broader urban fabric.

• “Other” Modernisms: An “Exemplary” Summer Housing Complex from Silifke / Göksun Akyürek

After the 1960’s, Turkey’s coastal landscape began to rapidly change with touristic structures shaped by the interaction between Mediterranean modernism and vernacular traditions. This study focuses on the Örnek Ev (Exemplary House) Holiday Complex, designed and built in the late 1980s by two young architects from Ankara in the Silifke district of Mersin for a civil servants’ cooperative, framing the project as an overlooked yet compelling architectural experiment. The author examines the spatial and structural qualities, construction process, and subsequent transformations relying on first-hand observations as well as archival drawings and documents. The research aims to produce a historical account of the social actors and dynamics made visible through this architectural production.

URBANISATION

• An Examination of the Changing Planning Activities of IlBank within the Context of Legal and Administrative Regulations / Kader Doğan, Zeynep Şirin Enlil

Established after the proclamation of the Republic, IlBank significantly contributed to Turkey’s planning practices. However, due to evolving economic, political, and social conditions, its impact on spatial planning has not continued at the same level. In this article, the authors examine the legal and administrative regulations that have directly or indirectly shaped the Bank’s planning activities. Starting from the Bank’s establishment, the authors examine the legal regulations that have influenced its planning activities through the lenses of economic development, urbanization, and political processes, presenting their research within a periodization framework.

PUBLICATION REVIEW

Jansen and Ankara: Plans - Correspondence / Olgu Çalışkan

Published in June last year and edited by H. Çağatay Keskinok, Irmak Yavuz Özgür, and H. Eren Efeoğlu, Jansen and Ankara: Plans – Correspondence is brought into dialogue with previous publications and events on Ankara’s urban planning history in Olgu Çalışkan’s review. In addition to discussing the content of this reference work, Çalışkan offers a comprehensive evaluation of its contribution to urban studies literature, its publication process, and the contemporary methodologies employed.

CULTURAL HERITAGE IN DANGER

Developments Threatening the Lycian Archaeological Landscape and Lessons to Be Learned / Nevin Esin Tekin Bellibaş

In this edition of "Cultural Heritage in Danger" section, first introduced in issue 405, we feature Nevin Esin Tekin Bellibaş’s article on the developments threatening the Lycian archaeological landscape and the lessons that must be drawn from them.

CONTACT

Survivors of the Historic Shipyard: Castaways / Şeyma Seyrek

Located on the Baltic coast in the Polish city of Gdansk, the Royal Shipyard today functions as a museum and hosts various installations. Drawing attention to the socio-political importance of the structure, the author examines the installation called “Castaways” exhibited here. Exploring the choice of industrial scrap metal and the composition of the piece, the author unpacks the imagery created by the artist on the shipyard quay and shares the underlying narratives embedded in the work.