Seyfi Arkan: A Pioneer in a Modernist Approach

In the 2008-2010 period of the Chamber of Architects Commemoration Program, SEYFİ ARKAN, a pioneering figure in Turkish modern architecture, was deemed worthy of commemoration. Within the framework of the program themed "A Pioneer in Modernist Expansion: SEYFİ ARKAN," between 2008 and 2010, a complete inventory of Arkan's original drawings found in all relevant institutional and private archives was created and transferred to digital media; his standing structures were identified and photographed; published books, theses, articles, and documents written by Arkan or about him were accessed; a symposium was organized that shed light on the architect's work as well as his era; and a retrospective exhibition featuring all of the architect's work was prepared and continues to be exhibited in many cities across Turkey.

The book "A Pioneer in Modernist Expansion: SEYFİ ARKAN," edited by Ali Cengizkan, A. Derin İnan, and N. Müge Cengizkan and published in October 2012, includes a catalog compiled from archival documents and current photographs of all of the architect's published/unpublished projects, buildings, and master plans, as well as symposium papers containing research and evaluations from individuals with expertise and work on Turkish modern architecture and Arkan, quality articles about Arkan published to date, reports prepared by Arkan, Arkan's lecture notes, examples from the diary kept during the construction of İller Bankası, and private and institutional correspondence.

The comprehensive research conducted on Seyfi Arkan's (1903-1966) life, works, professional practice, family, and professional circle aimed to learn about his background in concentric circles, starting from the schools he attended and taught at, the places he used as an office, and the houses he lived in. Planned to run for two years between 2008 and 2010, but extended until the book's publication in 2012, the studies involved interviews with many individuals; research in numerous archives and libraries in Ankara, Istanbul, and Berlin; and attempts to obtain as complete a list of his structures as possible and to create a mature catalog with on-site observations. The symposium held at MSGSÜ in January 2010 and the comprehensive exhibition opened on the same date were well-received as two important products of the Commemoration Program research project. The book is a product that is not limited to the aforementioned symposium papers and exhibition materials, but rather shares the lasting documents, determinations, texts, and products of this two-year study and research.

Even if the scarcity of Seyfi Arkan's drawings and design documents in the sources accessed during this work, and the almost complete absence of his personal belongings, are perceived as a drawback, it is full of social lessons in terms of the profile of an architect who was so prominent and tried to be highly valued in Turkey, at least for a certain period. This book, which calls for a closer understanding and learning of Seyfi Arkan's designs, the story of how his buildings were acquired, the values in these buildings, but also the personality behind all these stories, is bound to provoke and encourage new architectural research and interpretations, given his unique pioneering role in the modernization of Turkish architecture in the 20th century.

With this book, light is shed for the first time on the fact that Seyfi Arkan was indeed the most effective architect in Turkey's modernist expansion, how he directly transformed his era within practice, and his growing importance when viewed from today. We observe together how Seyfettin Nasih, whose education coincided with the early Republican period, who was known as "Atatürk's architect" for designing buildings for Atatürk for a time, who tried to adapt to the political conjuncture during World War II and the One-Party rule, and between 1950-60, and who competed and clashed with the famous architect Sedad Hakkı in both architectural and urban planning professional practice and education, transformed into Seyfettin Erkan and Seyfi Arkan.