Building of Last Parliament of Turkish Republic

The Grand National Assembly of Turkey Building

 The architect of the third building where the activities of the The Grand National Assembly are continuing at present was the Austrian architect Prof. Clemens Holzmeister, who won the project contest opened in 1938. Prof. Holzmeister was also at the same time the architect of many State structures in the capital city of Ankara.

In 1937, it was decided to open a project contest for the construction of a new parliament building of a "monumental quality and suitable to the permanence of the Republic of Turkey and the architectural characteristics of the twentieth century". As a result, it was decided to apply Clemens Holzmeister's project which was also liked by Atatürk. Due to not finding financial resources fort he construction of the building, it was opened for use on January, 1961.

The architectural chararacteristics and the general structure of this building has been designed with a sober, well-built and lasting attribute, in a manner that will symbolize the strength and immortality of the Republic of Turkey.

The Honor Entrance is located on the front facade of the Main Building in the central area and under the wings of the bridge are entrance doors one and two, while on the back facade entrance doors three and four are situated. It is traversing with five large bronze doors from the Honor Entrance, which has a monumental quality, to the Reception Hall in the interior. From here it is entering a marbled hall and contemned galleries which have two inside gardens. The General Assembly Meeting Hall is located in the central space which is surrounded by these galleries that are the lobbies of the members of parliament. In the Main Building, excluding the General Assembly hall, are located the administrative offices reserved for the political parties, the meeting rooms of the committees, the Assembly library, the computer center, archive, offices set aside for the press and publication organizations.

Clemens Holzmeister, (The Architect)

Austrian architect and townplanner. Holzmeister, who designed many of the government buildings in Ankara, is known more as an implementer rather than as the founder or creator of a school of architecture.
He studied architecture at the Vienna Technical University. In 1924, he began to work as a teacher and administrator at one of the architectural studies of the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, becoming president of the Academy from 1933 to 1937.

Holzmeister had made several visits to Ankara between 1927 and 1938 to implement designs he had drawn in his studio in Vienna. It was in this period, in particular, when the new Turkish capital was being planned, that Holzmeister found the opportunity to design many of the public buildings there.

Some of the buildings he designed in Ankara are the Defence Ministry (1927-30), the General Staff Headquarters (1928-30), the Ministry of Education (1929-34), the Officers' Club (1930-35), the War School (1930-35), the "Güven" Monument (1931-36), the Presidential Residence, Çankaya (1931-32), the Ulus Central Bank (1931-33), the Ministry of Interior (1932-34) the Ministry of Public Works (1933-34), the Court of Appeal (1933-34), the Ulus Emlak Bank (1933-34) and the Grand National Assembly Building (1938-63).

Holzmeister made clear his desire to reflect the strength of the Turkish State in his monumental architecture. He used axial, symmetric blocks and Neo-classic features to emphasize the monumental effect and emphasize the strength of the young Turkish Republic. His works in Ankara, which comprise the most important part of his career as an architect, carry the specialities of monumental classicism and a Viennese interpretation of modern architectural trends.

From 1940 to 1949, Holzmeister gave courses in architecture at ITU (Istanbul Technical University).