The aim of the association

550 Pages·2015·27.02 MB·English

AN AESTHETIC RESPONSE TO AN ARCHITECTURAL CHALLENGE:
ARCHITECTURE‘S DIALOGUE WITH THE ARTS IN POSTWAR TURKEY

A THESIS SUBMITTED TO
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
OF
MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

BY

EZGĠ YAVUZ

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR
THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
IN
THE PROGRAM OF ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY

JANUARY 2015
Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences

Prof. Dr. Meliha AltunıĢık
Director

I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the
degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elvan Altan Ergut
Head of Department

This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is
fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of
Philosophy.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elvan Altan Ergut
Supervisor

Examining Committee Members

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Namık Erkal (METU, AH)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Esin Boyacıoğlu (GU, AH)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zeynep Yasa Yaman (HU, Art HIST)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lale Özgenel (METU, AH)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elvan Altan Ergut (METU, AH)
I hereby declare that all information in this document has been
obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and
ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and
conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that
are not original to this work.

Name, Last name : Ezgi Yavuz

Signature :

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ABSTRACT

AN AESTHETIC RESPONSE TO AN ARCHITECTURAL CHALLENGE:
ARCHITECTURE‘S DIALOGUE WITH THE ARTS IN POSTWAR TURKEY

Yavuz, Ezgi
Ph.D. Program in Architectural History
Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elvan Altan Ergut

January 2015, 524 pages

This study aims to analyze architecture‘s dialogue with the arts in postwar Turkey.
It attempts to comprehend the formation of the idea of ‗collaboration‘ between arts
and architecture and the meaning of this from the viewpoint of architectural
production. Thus, it investigates the atmosphere together with the facts and actors
involved in this unity, all of which contribute to uncover the intellectual background
and the practice of ‗collaboration‘. The ultimate goal in this study is to understand
the intention behind integrating the modern arts into modern architecture in that
particular context. Defined as an ―interregnum,‖ the mid-century modernism faced
with an ―internal critique‖ in terms of architectural discourse and production. This
critical approach searched for new interpretations of the ―modern,‖ which was
expected to suggest satisfactory and adaptable solutions for the requirements of
the time. In this respect, the study tries to read the contemporary discussions and
the materialized works in Turkey with reference to a wider international frame of
the architectural context that witnessed similar debates and practices. This
includes the reevaluation process of modern architecture, which was also seen in
the Turkish architectural climate in the form of a rapprochement between
architecture and the public, and a solution to the dichotomy between the local and
the universal. At the end, the investigation examines the attempt of reconstructing
a dialogue with the plastic arts by analyzing the triggering factors, intellectual
basis, modus operandi, and the implications in both artistic, architectural and the
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general socio-cultural context of the postwar period; and evaluates the
consequent formation of a ―situated modernism‖ in contemporary architecture in
Turkey.

Keywords: Postwar Period in Turkey, Modern Architecture, Modern Art,
Publicness, Local/Universal

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ÖZ

MĠMARĠ BĠR SORUNA ESTETĠK BĠR KARġILIK:
ĠKĠNCĠ DÜNYA SAVAġI SONRASI DÖNEMDE TÜRKĠYE‘DE MIMARLIĞIN
SANATLA KURDUĞU DĠYALOG

Yavuz, Ezgi
Doktora, Mimarlık Tarihi Lisansüstü Programı
Tez Yöneticisi: Doç. Dr. Elvan Altan Ergut

Ocak 2015, 524 sayfa

Bu çalıĢma, Türkiye‘de 2. Dünya SavaĢı sonrasında mimarlığın diğer sanatsal
etkinlikler ile kurduğu diyaloğu analiz etmeyi amaçlamaktadır. AraĢtırma, sanat ve
mimarlık arasındaki birliktelik düĢüncesinin oluĢumunu ve bu iliĢkinin anlamını
mimarlık açısından kavramaya çalıĢmaktadır. Bu nedenle çalıĢma, dönemin
atmosferini bu birlikteliğin düĢünsel altyapısını ve pratiğini ortaya çıkarmada
önemli katkıları olan olguları ve bu iliĢkide yer alan aktörleri de içine alarak
incelemektedir. Bu çalıĢmadaki esas amaç, bu bağlam içinde modern mimarlığa
modern sanatı dahil etmenin arkasında yatan niyeti anlamaktır. Ara Dönem
(interregnum) olarak adlandırılan çağ ortası modernizmi mimarlık söylemi ve
üretimi açısından içsel bir eleĢtiriyle yüzyüze gelmiĢtir. Bu eleĢtirel yaklaĢım,
dönemin ihtiyaçları için tatmin edici ve uygulanabilir çözümler sunması beklenen
―modern‖ olanın yeni yorumlarını aramaktadır. Bu anlamda, bu çalıĢma
Türkiye‘deki çağdaĢ tartıĢmaları ve gerçekleĢen örnekleri, benzer tartıĢmalara ve
uygulamalara tanık olmuĢ daha geniĢ bir çerçevedeki güncel mimarlık bağlamına
referansla okumaya çalıĢmaktadır. Bu çalıĢma, Türk mimarlık ortamında da
mimarlık ve toplumun yakınlaĢması ve yerel/evrensel arasındaki ikiliğe çözüm
biçimlerinde görülen modern mimarlığın yeniden değerlendirilme sürecini de
kapsamaktadır. Sonuçta araĢtırma, mimarlığın plastik sanatlarla yeniden iliĢki
kurma giriĢimini, tetikleyici etkenlerini, düĢünsel altyapısını, iĢleyiĢ biçimini ve
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savaĢ sonrası dönemde sanatsal, mimari ve genel sosyo-kültürel bağlamdaki yan
anlamlarını da içeren bir kapsam içinde analiz ederek incelemekte; ve
Türkiye‘deki çağdaĢ mimarlıkta ―konumlandırılmıĢ modernizm‖e uyumlanan
oluĢumu değerlendirmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler: Türkiye‘de 2. Dünya SavaĢı Sonrası Dönem, Modern Mimarlık,
Modern Sanat, Kamusallık, Yerel/Evrensel

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To Sevil, Necan and Uygar Yavuz
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elvan Altan
Ergut, who always had positive attitude that buoyed me during this exhaustive
and difficult period. I feel indebted to her for her sincere support, indispensable
criticisms and kind guidance throughout my graduate study, and also for
encouraging me to experience doing my research and studies abroad.

I owe sincere and earnest thanks to my thesis committee, Prof. Dr. Belgin Turan
Özkaya and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Esin Boyacıoğlu, who contributed to my thesis with
their reviews and suggestions on the development of this study.

I would like to show my gratefulness to my jury members Assoc. Prof. Dr. Namık
Erkal, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lale Özgenel, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zeynep Yasa Yaman,
who demonstrated their thoughtful concern and for sharing their invaluable
comments, from which I greatly benefitted.

I am truly indebted and thankful to Prof. Dr. Neslihan Dostoğlu, who believed in
me and encouraged me in my aspiration and determination to follow an academic
career. She was the first person to urge me to apply to the Architectural History
Graduate Program at METU via KKTC-ÖYP program.

I must express my appreciation to the professors of the Architectural History
Graduate Program, Prof. Dr. Suna Güven, Prof. Dr. Ali Uzay Peker, and Assist.
Prof. Dr. Sevil Enginsoy Ekinci, for their scholarly guidance and courteousness
during my PhD education.

I would like to thank Prof. Dr. Hilde Heynen for being my advisor during my
Erasmus period at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and providing me the
opportunity to make a thorough investigation regarding my study.

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I am thankful to the staff of the Campus Arenberg Library and the Center Library
in KULeuven for their kindness and helping me during my studies at these
institutions, especially with the periodicals.

I owe many thanks to Palmer-Eloot Celeste from the NATO Multimedia Library
and Eudes Nouvelot and Ineke Deserno from the NATO Archives, and Nathalie
Mehl from the Strasbourg Council of Europe Directorate of Information
Technology, who kindly allowed me to access and use the written and visual
documents related to my research.

I also wish to thank the staff at the National Library, the Republic of Turkey Prime
Ministry General Directorate of State Archives, the Architects Association 1927,
the Chamber of Architects of Turkey, the library of the Ministry of Environment
and Urban Planning, the Istanbul Divan Hotel, the Izmir Swiss Hotel, and
especially Aslı Can Üner from the SALT Research Archives for their kind
assistance during my research at these institutions.

I am thankful to the secretary staff at the METU Faculty of Architecture and the
ĠTÜ Faculty of Architecture and the library staff at the Mimar Sinan Fine Arts
University and the staff at the archive section of the ĠTÜ Faculty of Architecture for
providing me with the documents related to the educational guides.
I would like to express my gratefulness to the interviewees, Aydın Boysan, Beril
Anılanmert, Cengiz BektaĢ, Cemil Eren, Devrim Erbil, Doğan Tekeli, Enis Kortan,
Kayhan Yüceyalçın, Muhlis Türkmen, Mustafa Pilevneli, Orhan ġahinler, Turan
Erol, who generously gave their time and sincerely shared their professional life
stories, which helped me attain a better understanding of the postwar period. In
addition, special thanks are due to artist Gencay Kasapçı, who had a keen
interest in my study and kindly sent copies of several relevant materials from her
personal archive. Also, I would like to thank Prof. Dr. Jale Erzen for her attention
and for providing me opportunity of making contact with Devrim Erbil.
I am especially thankful to TÜBĠTAK for the financial support throughout my PhD
education.

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