Istanbul City Hall: A case for the international style in Turkey

This thesis aims to find out the reasons for, and the effects of, the emergence of the International Style in Turkey, taking into consideration the political, social and economic factors and the relationship between Turkey and the West. This study concentrates on how the International Style emerged in Turkey through discovering how it emerged elsewhere in the world and by examining one of the early examples, Istanbul Belediye Sarayı or Istanbul City Hall (ICH), which was built following a national architectural competition in 1952. ICH is located in the south of Saraçhane Park, where Atatürk Boulevard and Şehzadebaşı Street intersect. Reviewing the literature of Turkish architectural history, it is observed that most of the studies concentrated on the early Republican period when the newly established regime was controlling the architectural practice on behalf of their aims. However, after 1950 when the multi-party period started, the architectural atmosphere changed in Turkey. The change in the politics affected the economy and, therefore, the architectural practice. It is realized that depth exploration was needed for both the architecture of the 1950s and the case study of the ICH which has not been done before. This is the main motivation of the thesis. This thesis consists of five parts. The first chapter is introductory to the subject. The second chapter focuses on the development and spread of the International Style in the world generally. In the West the term 'International Style' was named after the Museum of Modern Art's (MoMA) exhibition in New York called The International Style: Since 1922, which was organised by Philip Johnson, Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Alfred Barr in 1932. The idea of the exhibition was not just about categorising and creating new principles for architects. The curators argued that a new style had already emerged in the West, so they collected examples for the exhibition and afterwards wrote three principles based on the examples. The curators explained the three principles as: architecture as a volume, concerning regularity and the avoidance of applied ornament. These principles were not formulas but fundamental elements. The exhibition also introduced modern architecture to the United States. The third chapter describes how the International Style came to Turkey, and examines the process leading to its emergence. In order to understand the process in Turkey, it is necessary to research and examine the preceding and contemporary architectural atmospheres, and the effects and reasons for the International Style's emergence and disappearance. To understand its practice in Turkey, the architectural atmosphere is analysed, beginning in the early years of the Republic and continuing to the 1950s. At the same time, the relationship between political power and architecture, and the West and Turkey will be the focus. After researching the background in both the West and Turkey, the fourth chapter presents a case study of the International Style. ICH is chosen for this subject as one of the early examples of the International Style in Turkey. What makes the example of ICH important is that not only is it a pioneer of the style but it is also a public building, where the relationship between political power and architecture can be observed. Architecture has always been seen as a tool to propagate the ideology of power. In the early years of the Republic, architecture was one of the most effective ways for the new regime to build up the idea of the nation state in Turkey. After World War II, the idea endured but the language was different. For all these reasons, designing a public building with the idea of the International Style deserves to be researched. Even more interesting is the finding that in the national competition almost every project was designed according to International Style principles and the projects were very similar to each other. This shows us the common architectural view of that time. In addition to these important points, the ICH also has significance in being located on a historic peninsula and having an impact on the silhouette and character of the area. To conclude this chapter, criticisms of the International Style and the ICH, both positive and negative, will be taken into consideration. In the light of all this information, the emergence of the International Style in Turkey and its practice in İstanbul will be evaluated, while focusing on the ICH. The conclusion evaluates the relationship of architecture, politics and the economy through the emergence of the International Style in Turkey. In this section, examples other than the ICH, the International Style's effects and contributions to the architectural practice, and criticisms and results will be evaluated.