Aptullah Ziya Kozanoglu in the context of architecture of Early Republican Era

Aptullah Ziya Kozanoğlu is one of the significant architects who has effects on the Early Republican architecture both with his written work and his designs, even though there are not many studies on him as an architect. In this research, it is aimed to detect the position of Kozanoğlu within the architectural milieu of the period through his thoughts on architecture, his implemented and unimplemented designs and his construction works as an architect. Firstly, a research is conducted about his biography consisting of limited information from several sources; biography of Kozanoğlu who assumed several identities such as author, magazine illustrator, architect, contractor, club president, journalist and theatre owner is detailed and placed on a timeline. Since limited information is received from his family during the research on his biography, newspapers of he period, the memoir of Zeki Sayar, his friend from Academy of Fine Arts and journals such as Mimar/Arkitekt of which he is one of the founding partners are drawn on. In order to create resources for his architectural works, his style in his writings on architecture and his approach to the conditions of the period, his historical novel writing which is generally subject to studies, was important in his life and in a way, he is famous for, is touched upon briefly. The focus of this thesis consists of Aptullah Ziya's architectural designs between 1930-1936 and his writings on architecture. Since no personal archive of Kozanoğlu can be found, his architectural projects were tracked down from Mimar/Arkitek journal. For his writings on architecture, again Arkitekt journal and for his writings on rural architecture, Ülkü magazine of Halkevleri were used. While Kozanoğlu's ideas on the architecture of the period was exhibited, a synthesis about the architectural undertanding of Early Republican era was reached through comparisons with opinions of other architects. Kozanoğlu‟s construction works as a contractor from 1936 to his death were examined in order to understand the context which makes an architect's assuming a contractor's role possible or normal and, working conditions, construction practice and construction process of the period in which he worked as a contractor.Therefore, a brief information on buildings in which he was a contractor were given and, tender and construction processes were examined in the light of the newspapers of the period.