Portraits from the Chamber of Architects' History: Refael Avidor

The "Portraits from the History of the Chamber of Architects" series, which features our esteemed colleagues who have contributed to the architectural profession and left their mark on the work of the Chamber of Architects, continues with the book on Refael Avidor.

As one of the student representatives of the 1968 generation, Refael Avidor was an activist who participated in almost all the events of those years, paying the price with trials and imprisonment. In the oral history interview included in the book, he vividly recounts those years and his experiences. After graduation, during the highly tense period of the 1970s, Avidor served on the General Headquarters administration of the Chamber of Architects; in addition to his administrative role, he also contributed to the Chamber's platforms during his years as an employee of the Istanbul Branch, productively sustaining the Chamber's life. His accounts of the events during that period contain important clues that will contribute to the history of the Chamber.

Parallel to his architecture career, Avidor is both a writer who produces works in literary categories such as poetry, compilations, and anthologies, and a painter who has held various exhibitions and creates colorful works that shed light on history. In all his works, he describes the events that occurred in the environment where he lived and worked, the changing Istanbul, and especially the problems of people living within the historical fabric. Examples of his paintings depicting the streets of Beyoğlu that preserve its identity and the people within them, as well as his drawings, can also be found in the book.