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MULTIMEDIA
May 27, 2012
 
 
 
 
 
 

Turkey’s public buildings poorly designed, argue architects

The most beautiful and different designed buildings in Turkey belong to private institutions.
27 December 2009 / ELIF AKDENIZ , ISTANBUL
While Turkey’s privately owned buildings such as shopping centers and state-owned bridges and mosques are rich and attractive in design, many public buildings, including schools, hospitals and government buildings, are subject to harsh criticism from most architects due to their poor standards of design.
According to architects, Turkey’s public buildings are focused on functionality rather than design, whereas European countries pay attention to the design of their state buildings as well as their privately owned buildings. Architects believe that the various architectural competitions held in Europe are the reason behind the high quality of design of both state and private buildings. An integral element of the architectural field in Europe, these competitions generate rivalry among architects so as to increase the standards of design for public buildings. The rivalry results in well-designed construction projects.

Sunday’s Zaman spoke to some architects, and they said it is time to change the perception of design in Turkey in order to keep up with European standards. Korhan Gümüş, an architect and the chairman of the Human Settlements Association (İYD), stated that in contrast to those in many European countries, public buildings in Turkey are poorly designed and make people more depressed.

“When we look at most beautiful buildings in Turkey, we see that most of them belong to private institutions or families. Public buildings in Turkey are being constructed with a very limited budget, thus functionality is more important than visual quality. There is no professional ambition regarding the design of public buildings,” he stated.

Gümüş complained that the government does not invest in the design of state buildings, even though Turkey hosts one of the most beautiful cities of the world. He also expressed the hope that the spirit of the ongoing democratization initiative, which aims to bring higher standards of democracy and peace to the country, will inspire more innovative public building design.

Another architect, Selçuk Erdoğmuş, agreed with Gümüş. According to Erdoğmuş, public buildings in Turkey tend to have a similar design, and unfortunately the design is of a poor standard.

“Architectural competitions are vital for the quality of design of public buildings in developed and developing countries, but Turkey does not organize any such competitions. Unfortunately, this remains a problem, one that urgently needs a solution,” he remarked.

Hakan Kaynar, a historian, argued that public buildings need to change visually because they are not currently benefiting from improvements in the architectural field. He said students are generally graduating from box-like schools.

“Just as a new education system is being implemented, new schools should be constructed,” he noted. Kaynar also said the government should change the state’s perception of the design of public buildings.

 
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