Interpreting Post-1960 Turkish Modernism through Architectural Journals: Pluralist Reflections

Luca Orlandi
Zeynep Sena Ekiz

Session

Architecture and Spatial Planning

Description

This paper investigates how the idea of architectural pluralism was constructed in Turkish architectural journals and how this discourse contributed to the reinterpretation of modernism in the second half of the 20th century. Focusing on key publications such as Mimarlık, Arkitekt, Yapı, and Arredamento Mimarlık, it analyzes journals published between 1960 and 2000, with particular attention to articles that reflect on the architecture of the 1960s and 1970s and the emergence of pluralist discourse during that period, as seen through architectural and professional debates. Rather than approaching pluralism as merely a stylistic shift, this paper frames it as a multifaceted response, including ideological, contextual, and formal aspects to the dominant nation-building narratives of early Republican modernism. Through discourse analysis of selected articles and editorials, it aims to reveal how the meaning of modernism was debated and redefined across a range of positions in the 1960s and 1970s. In parallel with discourse analysis, this paper closely examines how these pluralist tendencies intersect with architectural production. By analyzing the published representations of buildings constructed during this period, it traces the evolving architectural language of the post-1960 era as reflected in the journals. This dual approach highlights the interplay between discourse and practice. Finally, this study points to the transition experienced in the conceptual boundaries of modernism in Turkey by briefly touching on how the pluralistic discourse and its architectural manifestations changed after 1980. It argues that architectural journals during this period did not merely document developments but actively participated in shaping and redefining the discourse of modernism through published content.

Keywords:

Turkish modern architecture, pluralism, architectural journals, architectural discourse, 20th century architecture

Proceedings Editor

Edmond Hajrizi

ISBN

978-9951-982-41-2

Location

UBT Kampus, Lipjan

Start Date

25-10-2025 9:00 AM

End Date

26-10-2025 6:00 PM

DOI

10.33107/ubt-ic.2025.22

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Oct 25th, 9:00 AM Oct 26th, 6:00 PM

Interpreting Post-1960 Turkish Modernism through Architectural Journals: Pluralist Reflections

UBT Kampus, Lipjan

This paper investigates how the idea of architectural pluralism was constructed in Turkish architectural journals and how this discourse contributed to the reinterpretation of modernism in the second half of the 20th century. Focusing on key publications such as Mimarlık, Arkitekt, Yapı, and Arredamento Mimarlık, it analyzes journals published between 1960 and 2000, with particular attention to articles that reflect on the architecture of the 1960s and 1970s and the emergence of pluralist discourse during that period, as seen through architectural and professional debates. Rather than approaching pluralism as merely a stylistic shift, this paper frames it as a multifaceted response, including ideological, contextual, and formal aspects to the dominant nation-building narratives of early Republican modernism. Through discourse analysis of selected articles and editorials, it aims to reveal how the meaning of modernism was debated and redefined across a range of positions in the 1960s and 1970s. In parallel with discourse analysis, this paper closely examines how these pluralist tendencies intersect with architectural production. By analyzing the published representations of buildings constructed during this period, it traces the evolving architectural language of the post-1960 era as reflected in the journals. This dual approach highlights the interplay between discourse and practice. Finally, this study points to the transition experienced in the conceptual boundaries of modernism in Turkey by briefly touching on how the pluralistic discourse and its architectural manifestations changed after 1980. It argues that architectural journals during this period did not merely document developments but actively participated in shaping and redefining the discourse of modernism through published content.