Product Description
This book was prepared in a complementary manner, in conjunction with the research exhibition titled "Building a City: Ankara 1923-1933," organized by Koç University VEKAM under the curation of Ali Cengizkan and N. Müge Cengizkan, as part of the 50th anniversary of the Vehbi Koç Foundation. The research closely examines the construction, modernization, and the establishment history of Yenisehir (New City) during the first decade of Ankara's founding as the capital. It is also a history of examining the culture of housing "five minutes to modern" in a period that created a little-known and rapidly transforming environment.
The Exhibition and Book expand on themes such as the modernization of settlements in the old and new city areas of Ankara during that period, the formation of urban and park culture, the modernization of public services, the creation of a culture of remembrance, the identity formation of national culture, and the modernization of the city's social life. The study, which creates a new field of knowledge by modeling the state of housing and public buildings in Yenisehir in 1933, considered the first expansion of modern Ankara, examines how a "new" "city" was built in a war-weary country in the first quarter of the 20th century, along with the will and facts revealed until the 10th anniversary of the Republic.
The study sought answers to questions such as "What is the 'new housing' required by the 'new society,' and how was it obtained? What are the characteristics of the housing culture created by 'new people' as residents of the city while transitioning from a subject culture to citizen rights? How did politicians, landowners, planners, architects, contractors, and intellectuals determine housing culture through their own housing needs? Is it natural for the planned environment to dissolve within social dynamics and for gaps to emerge in historical writing as the 'new society' appears on the horizon?" A new field of historiography, along with the spatial relationship of human history, has been presented.
The research on this period of Ankara's history, about which we have the least knowledge, has been laid out by re-examining hitherto overlooked documents, including existing historical writing materials, original plan sheets, land registry documents, and an increasing collection of assets from the 2000s, as well as information accumulated in evolving archives, based on postcards, photocard, and albums. The method itself has also created a new quantitative evaluation and micro-history study substratum, enabling the re-examination of new urban structures and spaces as a holistic product.
What emerges is an Ankara we have never known before: new, boldly showcasing its search for novelty, generous, unreserved, unpretentious, and unapologetic. There is much to learn from Ankara of 1923-1933 in terms of urban genetics, architectural archetypes, stylistic experience, and local administrative practices.
The Exhibition and Book use first-hand, original, and newly produced visuals instead of familiar Ankara visuals from the period. As a matter of principle, methods that generate nostalgia, especially old vs. new comparisons, are deliberately not used in the Exhibition and Book; instead, empathy tools are established to understand the period. It is known that nostalgia creates alienation, and alienation leads to romantic escape and irresponsibility.
As a research project, the Exhibition and Book aim to contribute to the city's modern history and to trigger the idea of establishing an "Ankara City Museum."