The construction of Ankara new city: To comprehend the early republican house: Ankara Yeni Şehir’in kuruluşu: Erken Cumhuriyet Konutu’nu anlamak

Abstract

The Construction of a New Capital: Ankara 1923-1933 research, which ended up in an exhibition and book in 2019, brought to the fore new horizons to comprehend early Republican Turkish architecture, especially in the context of Ankara and housing culture. The research focused on deciphering the housing architecture in the early capital, using scarce architectural documentation. Successful in modelling the Yeni Şehir / New City area of 350 buildings, the documentation of vast number of genuine photographs and postcards of the area reaching more than 1300 in number, along with aerial photographs dated 1936, supported the study. The outcome made it possible to reflect on the new city and neighbourhood formation in the early Republican Capital, with respect to housing design, construction and taskforces in the practice of building construction. This article connects what was already known to what is recently revealed, acknowledging the designer architects, the construction constraints, the available technology with the prevailing construction materials and the capacities of manpower in the era. The zoning, planning and implementation of a new housing neighbourhood, inevitably reflects the historic, administrative and financial capacities and limitations of those who organize the development; along with demarking their intellectual capacities and revealing the expectations and cultural diversities of the future owners and tenants. © 2022