Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Architecture and the Power of Bureaucracy, Vienna, Avusturya, 6 - 07 Kasım 2025, (Yayınlanmadı)
In the first half of the 20th century, a global tendency emerged in which nation-states used modernist
architecture to symbolize their state power. Especially in non-European territories, this architectural style
has been utilized to represent a breaking point from the past. This tendency has also been observed in
Türkiye, where modernist architecture played a key role in shaping the secular, modern nation of the Turkish
Republic from a centuries-old Islamic dynasty, the Ottoman Empire. The modernist architecture of this
period enabled the replacement of the old capital, Istanbul—home to the masterpieces of the Byzantine and
Ottoman Empires—with the new capital, Ankara, which symbolized the Republic through its modernist
buildings. Educational institutions, in particular, became central to this transformation, not only as centers
of knowledge but also as symbols of the state's bureaucratic power.
This paper explores how the design and construction of key educational buildings in early Republican
Türkiye reflected the political and administrative ideologies of the era. It examines new educational
institutions of various scales and types, such as People's Houses and Village Institutes, as well as new school
buildings that housed the modern education system being implemented across the country, as positive
agents of bureaucracy. This study demonstrates how these buildings were more than just functional
spaces—they were physical embodiments of the bureaucratic processes that defined the state's ambitions.
The representation of the educational institutions in publications like La Turquie Kemaliste and Arkitekt
will be a key factor, as they did not only document architectural practices but also acted as instruments of
state power, promoting the political and aesthetic ideals of the new republic. Ultimately, this paper argues
that the architecture of early Republican educational institutions was a tool of political expression,
reinforcing the authority of the new state through design, while publications served as mediators in this process.