Architect (B. 1873, Istanbul – D. 1942
Istanbul). He was born in Istanbul
to the governor of Baghdad Province Giritli Sırrı Pasha and poet Leyla Saz.
After he attended Mekteb-i Sultani (Galatasaray
High School) for two years, he went to
Paris (1888).
Having studied mathematics at the École Centrale, he attended Académie Julian
for studies in painting and he got his further education in architecture at the
Ecole des Beaux Arts. He attended Prix Rome, which none French people could
attend, with a special dispensation given by the French Prime Minister and he
received Légion d'honneur there. Upon his return to Istanbul, he was appointed to architects
office of municipality (1899). He became the manager of Heyet -i Fenniye (T.N. Science
Board) during the mayoralty of Cemil Topuzlu. In 1905 he was assigned as the
architect of Ministry of Post and Telegraph (1905). Later, Sultan Mehmet V
(Reşat) appointed him chief court architect after the second constitution
(1908). He served awhile as the chief architect of the Engineering Corps at the
Ministry of War during the World War I by the order of Enver Pasha. He worked
at Ankara after
the Proclamation of the Republic. He was the architect of various important
buildings like Gazi Mansion (1924), Second Turkish
Grand National
Assembly Building
(1924) and of first design of Ankara Palas. In 1925 he went to Istanbul and continued his projects there.
He was the one of the
foremost agents of the first Turkish National Architecture Movement along with
Mimar Kemaleddin Bey and he formed the stylistic and theoretical bases of that
movement. Defter-i
Hakani(Istanbul Land Registry and Cadastre Building, 1908) in Istanbul
and Büyük Postane (T. N. Istanbul Main Post Office Building, 1909) in Sirkeci
are the first examples in which he adopted elements taken off the classic
Ottoman architecture such as dome arch. He also gave lectures at Sanayii Nefise
Mektebi Âlisi (Fine Arts Academy) and Mühendis Mektebi Âlisi (Istanbul
Technical University)
From time to time, he also wrote articles about architecture and city design. A
culture center established in Kastamonu in 2007 was named after him.
WORKS:
Mahmud Paşa Pavilion (Moda / Istanbul, 1896), Zihni Paşa Mosque (Erenköy
/ Istanbul, 1901), İzmit Clock Tower (İzmit, 1901-02), Kastamonu Government Building (Kastamonu,
1902), Posta ve Telgraf Nezareti Fabrikası (Sirkeci / Istanbul, 1907), Vedat
Tek House (Nişantaşı / Istanbul, 1913), Moda Ferry Port (Moda / Kadıköy / Istanbul
1915), Haydarpaşa Ferry Port (Haydarpaşa / Kadıköy / Istanbul, 1915), Tayyare
Şehitleri Monument (Fatih / Istanbul, 1916), Municipality Building (Fatih / Istanbul,
1916), Tarsus Belediye Tiyatrosu ve Gazinosu (Tarsus, 1929), Tahir Han (Galata
/ Istanbul, 1935).
