Reha Ortaçlı, a ‘Silent’ Actor of Architecture and His Unknown Apartment Blocks: Nihat Erim Apartment and Ortaçlı Apartment(s)

Abstract

This article initially focuses on the architectural career of Reha Ortaçlı, an important but ‘silent’ actor at a period when monumentalistnationalist architectural approach in Turkey was left behind in favor of a more functionalist and rationalist approach. His graduation projects in the Academy of Fine Arts, his project proposals for several architectural competitions, and projects that were implemented during his tenure as a civil servant give us a detailed information about this period and the way his architectural style was formed. As one of Ortaçlı’s most iconic buildings, his Ankara Tennis Club Project in 1954 has earned its place in the history of architecture in Turkey.This article also focuses on Ortaçlı’s apartments in Ankara. Ortaçlı is not well-known in architectural circles other than his Ankara Tennis Club building. In this respect, another objective of this article is to introduce Reha Ortaçlı’s architectural career in a broader perspective. To that end, the study aims to reveal his ‘unknown’ apartment projects by analyzing the Nihat Erim Apartment, designed in 1958, and Ortaçlı apartments, designed twice in 1962 and 1990. Oral history, archive and field research form part of the methodology, enabling to develop a more holistic view of his architectural practice and to identify the architect’s original design approach and its relationship with the period.

Keywords

• reha ortaçlı
• nihat erim apartment
• ortaçlı apartments
• ankara tennis club
• modern architecture
• ankara