COMMEMORATION

In the Memory of the Chamber of Architects' Grand Award Winner Şevki Vanlı...

Şevki Vanlı was a pioneering figure in the architectural milieu of Turkey through his buildings with distinguishing character and through the Vanlı Foundation he established, which has contributed to the architectural culture of the country with various publications. Ali Cengizkan writes on the memory of this exemplary architect, who holds the Grand Prize (Sinan Prize) of the Chamber of Architects.

In the Memory of the Beloved Architect Affan Yatman...

The article brings together writings of Yıldırım Yavuz, Erkut Şahinbaş, Ziya Tanalı, Ender Ergün, Aslıhan Kocaman and İlhan Kural on the memory of the well-known practicing architect Affan Yatman, who not only put his signature on many successful buildings but also is a prize winning architect of many architectural competitions together with his wife Nesrin Yatman in their Ankara based office.

EVENTS

"Fresh" Ideas from the London Festival of Architecture / Ilaria Pappalepore

The festival which aimed to make architecture engage with more people and to provide a "fresh" urban vision to the society came to a close in July 20th, after a month filled with a buzz of activities that not only celebrate architecture but also enliven the city life. For Ilaria Pappalepore, there could not be a better place for the world's biggest festival of architecture than London, a city that through history has always been able to reinvent itself, has never been afraid to venture, and where, as a result, totally different architectural styles manage to coexist in perfect harmony. However she stressed that many of the lectures were aimed at both architects and non-architects, the impression was that at most of the talks the audience was made of professionals of the field and students in architecture and planning.

NATIONAL ARCHITECTURE EXHIBITION

National Architecture Exhibition and Awards: What is it We Argue?
The 2006/10th and 2008/11th cycles of the National Architecture Exhibition and Awards are facing different criticisms due to the specifications that were put forward by the Awards Programme. Especially the specification, which reads as; "the entrant projects must have passed from the evaluation of CAT (Chamber of Architects of Turkey)" become subject to various discussions. In the aim of carrying these discussions to the magazine two articles reflecting on different aspects of the Awards Programme are presented together. In the first article, Boygar Özlen argues that these discussions cannot consist of whether there should be an evaluation process or not but can only be on the "method" of this evaluation. In the following article, Aydan Balamir revaluates the working methods of the Exhibition and Awards Committee and Jury in the light of the attitudes and views of the Executive Board of the Chamber.
 
FILE:
UIA 2008 TURIN: Could We Manage to Generate the Ways to Transmit Architecture? Editors: N. Müge Cengizkan, Tuğçe Selin Tağmat
The International Union of Architects (UIA), 23rd World Architecture Congress took place in Turin, Italy between June 30th and July 3rd 2008, under the theme "Transmitting Architecture". After the success of the last congress hosted by the Chamber of Architects in İstanbul in 2005, there were high expectations for the setting and context of the forthcoming Turin Congress. If the organizational problems are left to a side, the Turin Congress was successful in terms of spotting and reflecting on the contemporary architectural issues. Under the major themes in the programme, such as "culture", "democracy" and "hope", there were various presentations and discussions on topics related with the social responsibilities of architecture, values inherited from the historical courses and future perspectives, participation of the society to the build environment. The year 2008 is the 60th anniversary of the foundation of UIA. Therefore the UIA General Assembly, which was gathered right after the congress between 3rd and 6th July 2008, was given extra attention and significance. The assembly hosted the elections of the managing board for the forthcoming term as well as the members of the new UIA Council from the representatives selected from five different UIA regions. Günhan Danışman and Deniz İncedayı, who were the members of the Advisory Board of the UIA Office, Turkey, were listed by the Chamber of Architects and got elected for the forthcoming term covering the years 2008-2011.
 
The file consists of the evaluations of the Turin Congress covering the topics developed in the discussion sessions of the UIA work groups, top rated presentations, which attracted the interest of the audience, the exhibitions that deserve merit in terms of content and design and about the General Assembly and comments on the prospective vision of the UIA.  
 
ARCHITECTURAL PROFESSION
Globalism / Gaetan Siew
Chamber of Architects of Turkey hosted the International Union of Architects  2nd Group Meeting in February 2008.  Gaetan Siew, who was the president of UIA at the date, presented the relations of globalism with the changes in architectural education and profession with striking statistical datas. In his presentation, Siew stresses that it is pointless to try to take control of globalism or to try to hamper its presence. What becomes sensible is to develop the tools to handle and conduct globalism.
 
ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY
Museum of Cinema: Mole Antonelliana / Rüksan Tuna
After being erected in 1889, Mole Antonelliana Cathedral of the city Turin was the highest structure of the city. The author Rüksan Tuna revisits the old cathedral, which is still one of the most visible landmarks within the city Turin and conveys her views on the new Museum of Cinema, which is placed in a new concrete structure integrated into the old cathedral. 
 
ARCHITECTURAL POLICIES
European Forum for Architectural Policies Took Place in Slovenia: Architecture in Policies Adapting Climate Change / Tuğçe Selin Tağmat
European Forum for Architectural Policies (EFAP) Conference took place in Ljubljana in June 2008 under the presidency of the member state Slovenia. Under the theme of the conference, which was "Urban Regeneration, Adapting to Climate Change", various sub-themes like "Urban Development- Urban Management", "Urban Regeneration", "Old/New: Dialogue between Cultures" and "Architectural Policies" were carried to the discussion platform. The delegation from Turkey, including the Ministry of Public Works and Settlement Secretary and the Chamber of Architects, presented the work carried out in establishing the Turkish Architectural Policy at the conference. 
 
COMPETITION
National Architectural Competition for the Service Building of the Headquarters of the State Council
The winning projects of the architectural competition for the Service Building of the Headquarters of the State Council, which was organised by the Ministry of Public Works and Settlement were announced in June 29th, 2008. Among the 64 projects submitted to the competition, the jury selected 3 awards, 5 mansions and 4 purchase awards.
 
National Architectural Competition for Yozgat Municipality Commerce, Culture and Art Centre
Organised by the municipality of Yozgat, the national architectural competition aimed to achieve an urban centre for the city, which would house commercial, cultural and artistic activities. The results of the competition announced by the jury include 3 awards, 3 mansions and 4 purchase awards.
 
URBANISM
Vienna-Chicago: Discussions on Architecture and Metropolis / Günkut Akın, İhsan Bilgin, Sibel Bozdoğan, Murat Güvenç, Tansel Korkmaz
Last semester Masters Degree in Architectural Design Programme of İstanbul Bilgi University focused on the relations between architecture and metropolis through examining two different cities, one being Vienna and the other Chicago. The article presents the discussion panel organised in Santral İstanbul in March 2008, where the instructors of the programme Günkut Akın, İhsan Bilgin, Sibel Bozdoğan, Murat Güvenç and Tansel Korkmaz evaluated the differences in the character of two metropolises of two different continents; Vienna, the city of "historicity and gloom" and Chicago, the city of "speed and dynamism".
 
ARCHITECTURE OF THE REPUBLICAN PERIOD
Fragmentations in the History of Conservation in Turkey / Emel Kayın
The author provides a reading on the history of conservation in Turkey from 19th century to date through certain interruptions in political-economic and social-spatial fields. In her interpretation 1923, 1950, 1960, 1980 and 2000 are the specific years where these interruptions and fragmentations can be observed. Her argument stems from the idea that the history of conservation, just like political, economic and urban histories, moves on by means of climates and various affects dependant on external flows. There are significant glories in the history of conservation; however it will be more fruitful to determine the impasses of the field instead of re-glorifying the past experiences.
 
MEA ARCHITECTURA MEA CULPA
My Favorite Building / Gürhan Tümer
What a though question to ask somebody his/her most favorite building. How would I answer such a question? [...] What if I say that the building you see in the picture, "Dogon Temple", is my favorite building, which is actually true, what will happen then? I keep asking myself, what kind of an architecture is this?