Turkey: Modern Architectures in History.

• Author: Erman, Tahire
• Position: Book review

Turkey

Modern Architectures in History

By Sibel Bozdogan and Esra Akcan

London: Reaktion Books, 2012, 344 pages, ISBN 9781861898784.

THIS BOOK is written as part of the series on "Modern Architectures in History." Yet, it covers much more than architecture and urbanism in modern Turkey. It is a comprehensive study that relates the production of the physical environment to larger forces shaped by the economy (capitalism) and the state. Moreover, it demonstrates how the architectural environment is used by the Turkish state to 'shape' society. The different practices and ideologies from various eras are well articulated; detailed information as well as a large variety of photographs and drawings are provided to present a contextualized summary of modern architecture and urbanism in present-day Turkey. Consequently, I can say that the book is the product of a commitment to excellence both in content and visual presentation.

That said, the chapters, which are briefly mentioned below, are not equally captivating in terms of the content material. The broad range of issues covered in the book makes it challenging to maintain the level of engagement with each subject. The authors are more successful in the first chapters and with those subjects directly related to design and architecture (detailed information on the design principles, construction techniques and material is provided on single buildings and complexes) than with those subjects that remain outside of the architectural discipline (for example, the gecekondu phenomenon has social, political, economic, cultural and experiential components in addition to the spatial/physical dimension).

The book has nine chapters, starting with the 1920s and ending with the 2000s. The chapters are periodized as the early modernization project, the liberal democratic and populist era of the 1950s, the planned era of the 1960s, the politically charged years of the 1970s, and the globalization era since the 1980s under the hegemonic discourse and practice of neoliberalism and the cultural politics of post-modernity. The coup detats of 1960 and 1980, and the memorandum of 1971, are discussed in a separate chapter. The first three chapters "Architecture of Revolution," "Building for the Modern Nation" and "the Modern House" are about the early Republican period and examine the attempts of the Republican elite to use architecture and urban planning as a means to 'modernize' and 'enlighten' society. Specific examples are given about the production of places by the Republican elite, who were committed to reflecting their modernization ideology onto the public space and reinforcing it...