Building of Second Parliament of Turkish Republic

The Second Parliament Building of Turkey

Initially designed by Vedat Tek for The Republican People’s Party, The Second Parliament Building of Turkey, then, was converted to the new parliament building, and opened on October 18, 1924.

Designed with the national architecture principles, this building was made up of stone and built as two floors over a basement. It has a rectangular plan with a main entrance getting through to the street. Afterwards the entrance, there is a wide passage stretching out in the horizontal direction with two stairs at the end of it. At the center of the building, there exists a two-floored general assembly hall.

According to the center line of the second parliament building, both input and long facade facing the station are arranged symmetrically. Upper floor windows of buildings have been passed with pointed brick arches. The rectangular windows on the ground floor are, again, brick and flat. The inside of the arch is decorated with turquoise blue tile.

Transferred to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, this building began to be used as a museum and offices. Today, the "Museum of Republic" is opened to the public visits.

Vedat Tek, (The Architect)

Being one of the pioneers of The First National Architecture Movement, Vedat Tek was born in 1873 and graduated from Galatasaray High School and Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Initially working in Istanbul, the architect moved to Ankara in the first years of the Republic of Turkey. Tek struggled to nationalize the Turkish Architecture and so as to do this, he worked with the other architects, especially Mimar Kemalettin.

In Ankara, Tek designed the Ankara Palace and added some buildings to Ankara Gazi Köşkü. He also worked for the improvement of the public buildings. Big Post Office in Sirkeci, Haydarpaşa Vapur İskelesi, Moda Vapur İskelesi, Karaköy Denizyolları Acentası, Land Registry and Cadastre Building in Sultanahmet, Kastamonu Hükümet Konağı, Hungarian Embassy in Nişantaşı and Second Parliament Building of Turkey are the buildings he designed.

In his buildings, Tek mainly focused on the plan of the building and struggled to use every single land efficiently. He is famous for his achievement of the plans applied on rambling surfaces.