Architectural Models in Turkey - A Section from the 20th Century

The first book of the Pelin Derviş Publishing Project, Architectural Models in Turkey as a Tool for Thinking and Visualization | A Glimpse from the 20th Century, was published in collaboration with Architects Association 1927. In addition to texts on the place of the model in architectural practice, education, history, and archives, the book includes a selection of life stories, professional works, and productions of eight model makers—Sami Pazarbaşı, Sidel Pazarbaşı, Yusuf Z. Ergüleç, Selahattin Yazıcı, Mehmet Şener, Varjan Yurtgülü, İhsan Kostak, Murat Küçük. The first output of the Architectural Models in Turkey project was an exhibition titled Architectural Models in Turkey as a Tool for Thinking and Visualization, which opened at Studio-X Istanbul in 2017.

The book features both this exhibition, which allowed the study to flourish, and the collaborations with METU Faculty of Architecture and SALT Research, Architecture and Design Archive during the study process, as well as the studies specifically on the archive and the discussions in this context. The subtitle of the book refers to the 20th century. However, it must be admitted that in the book, the emphasis on the second half of the 20th century is more pronounced than on the first half. This is not due to the discovery or interpretation that there was indeed a greater weight in the second half of the 20th century. It would be more accurate to describe the reason as the urgency to record the sources of this period while they are still accessible. This is because sources that we can still speak to and access documents for can suddenly become inaccessible. It is important to take these sources seriously and remember that they may not always be there. This is also one of the important reasons behind the work of the Pelin Derviş Publishing Project.