Architecture of Turkey - 1920s and 1930s: First National Architectural Movement and Modernism

1920s and 1930s: First National Architectural Movement and Modernism

First National Architectural Movement (in Turkish: Birinci Ulusal Mimarlik Akimi) was an architectural movement led by Turkish architects Vedat Tek and Mimar Kemaleddin Bey. Followers of the movement wanted to create a new architecture which was based on motifs from Ottoman architecture but without Arabic or Islamic references. The movement was also labelled Turkish Neoclassical or the National Architectural Renaissance. The other followers of this movement were Arif Hikmet Koyunoglu and Giulio Mongeri. Buildings from this era are the State Art and Sculpture Museum (1927–30), Ethnography Museum of Ankara (1925–28), Bebek Mosque, Kamer Hatun Mosque and Tayyare Apartment Building.

There were various architectural experiments in the 1920s and 1930s as well. Ankara Central Station (1937) and Florya Atatürk Marine Mansion (1935) are considered as more contemporary architectural examples of the era.

  • First Ziraat Bank Headquarters (1925–29) in Ankara designed by Giulio Mongeri is an important symbol of the First National Architectural Movement.

  • State Art and Sculpture Museum designed by Arif Hikmet Koyunoğlu (1927–30)

  • Designed by Şekip Akalın, Ankara Central Station (1937) is a notable art deco design of its era.

Read more about this topic:  Architecture Of Turkey

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