Architecture of the Century, Women of Architecture Women Architects of the Century
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The third of the Centennial Panels, “Architecture of the Century, Women of Architecture”, organized by Istanbul Ticaret University Women and Family Application and Research Center, took place in our Sütlüce Campus.
The panel was moderated by the Center Director Dr. Ayşen Barlak Güngör. Our Construction and Technical Affairs Manager and Lecturer Dr. Sacide Akın, and Üsküdar Municipality Deputy Director of Technical Affairs Dr. Esra Özdil attended the panel as speakers. In the third of the centennial panels, women who carried out academic studies in different fields and made their mark in the history of the Republic of Türkiye were discussed. Women were hosted in the panel where architecture was evaluated from the perspective of women under two headings: the Ottoman period and the Republican period.
FOUNDATION WORKS ESTABLISHED BY WOMEN ARE STILL STANDING
Speaking about architectural developments in the pre-Republican period, Dr. Esra Özdil stated that during the Ottoman Period, most of the corporate services were provided through foundations. She said: “Some of the works that have survived to this day were built by foundations established by women, taking into account the smallest details. With the dedication culture that dominated the Ottoman Period, not only the wives and daughters of the dynasty, but even women in the remotest corners of Anatolia contributed to the development of architecture.”
FROM THE SELJUK PERIOD TO THE PRESENT
Dr. Esra Özdil stated that in Turkish history, women who had a say in state administration also had a say in architecture and that women played an active role in shaping cities. Dr. Özdil said: “In the historical process, women added inns and baths to the mosques they had built, which have survived from the Seljuk period to the present day, and turned them into social complexes. After the 18th century, women had hospitals and palaces built in addition to social complexes.”
In her speech about the developments in architecture after the establishment of the Republic and the impact of women on architecture, Dr. Sacide Akın reminded that the first Turkish women to receive architectural education were Leman Cevat Tomsu and Münevver Belen Gözeler, who were enrolled in the Sanayi-i Nefise School, which was founded in 1882 and where sculpture, architecture, engraving and art courses were taught, in 1930. Dr. Akın said: “There were very few female architects who graduated from this school and made their mark in the Republican period. The most prominent of these was Cahide Tamer Aksel, who was known as a Foundation Architect and the sought-after Restorer architect of the period, especially with her devoted work in Amcazade Hüseyin Pasha Mansion and the restoration of Yedikule Fortress, which lasted 12 years. However, female architects of the Republican Era could not produce a new work that would leave their mark on the period and be passed on to future generations.”
The panel ended with our Center Director Dr. Ayşen Barlak Güngör presenting the Certificate of Appreciation to the panelists.
