Anıtkabir

Anıtkabir

Anıtkabir is the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the leader of the Turkish War of Independence and the founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey. It is located in Ankara and was designed by architects Professor Emin Onat and Assistant Professor Orhan Arda. The site is also the final resting place of İsmet İnönü, the second President of Turkey. The architecture reminds many visitors the ancient Greek temples.

The period of Turkish architecture between 1940 and 1950 has been classified by architectural historians as the Second National Architecture Movement. This period is characterized mostly by monumental, symmetrical, cut-stone clad buildings, with great emphasis given to detailing and workmanship in construction. Anıtkabir contains the same characteristics of this period, and is considered by many to be the ultimate monument of the era.The Anıtkabir project originally had a vaulted ceiling above the mausoleum carried by the perimeter columns. After studying the subject, the architects concluded that it was possible to cover the ceiling with a reinforced concrete slab instead of a stone vault. This change reduced the weight of the ceiling and also eliminated certain constructional risks.

There are four main parts to Anıtkabir: the Road of Lions, the Ceremonial Plaza, the Hall of Honor (location of Atatürk's tomb) and the Peace Park that surrounds the monument.

Within the Anitkabir site there are ten towers situated in a symmetrical arrangement. These symbolize the ideals that influenced the Turkish nation and the creation of the Republic of Turkey. The towers are similar in terms of planning and structure: they are rectangular, close to a square, with pyramidal roofs.

Emin Onat, (The Architect)      

Turkish architect and educator.

He was born in Istanbul in 1908. He went to the Vefa Sultanisi School. In 1926, he entered the High School of Engineering. From the first classes, he showed a preference for fine arts and architecture lessons. In 1928, he was sent to Switzerland to be trained as a teacher of architecture. He graduated from the Zurich Technical High School in 1934.

In 1943, he became a professor. When the School of Engineering was transformed into the Technical University he established the Faculty of Architecture and as Ordinarius Professor he was rightly chosen as the first Dean of the Faculty. 

    

On account of his works in the international world of architecture he was granted honorary membership of the Royal Institute of British Architects and was awarded the title of Honorary Doctorate as one of 6 foreign men of science and arts chosen in connection with the 125th anniversary of the Hanover Technical High School in 1957, which was of great value to Turkish Architecture.

His most successful work done together with Prof. Orhan Arda was the Mausoleum of Ataturk in Ankara (1942-1953). He has numerous other fine works including the Turkish Bank of Industry and Development and the Science Faculty buildings built with Prof. Sedat Hakkı Eldem.

Apart from his academic career, and his principle work, the Mausoleum of Ataturk, other works of Emin Onat are as follows: Istanbul University Science and Literature Faculties (1944, S.H.Eldem), Bursa Governor’s Mansion (1945-1946), Bursa Uludağ Sanatorium, Ankara Kavaklıdere Cenap And House (1952), Open Air Cafe in Ankara’s Victory Square (1952), Ankara Çankaya Presidential Secretariat Building (1953), Istanbul Industry and Development Bank (1955), Police Hall in Ankara (1956), Office Building in Gümüşsuyu, Istanbul (1961).

The first member of the Chamber of Architects, Emin Onat, died of a heart attack in 1961