Architectural Education in Turkey

Before institutional education was established, the architecture profession was taught through hands-on experience and construction. In many places around the world, with the establishment of formal and technical educational institutions, education in architecture was initially directly linked to the military and was integrated with engineering. 

Turkey is one of the earlier countries to adopt the idea that architects need formal training. In this context, there is a continuous history that extends to the present day, with its origins in the Hendesehâne, or School of Engineering, founded in 1775 as the Ottoman Empire’s first educational institution for military engineering. At this early point in formal architectural education, engineers were trained in the building of fortifications and urban defense equipment as soldier-architects at the Imperial Military College, which at the time also functioned as a type of architecture school. This period of integration of engineering with the military lasted until the establishment of the Sanayi-i Nefîse Mekteb-i Âlîsi, or the Higher School of Fine Arts, in 1882. Over time, the distinction between the military, engineering, and architecture occurred in Turkey, as it had elsewhere around the world, and began to break away from the area of design despite its intrinsic importance to architectural education. 

Having started as a single presence within the Military College, architectural education is now taught in over a hundred schools around the country, with the architectural school model even finding its place in smaller towns, and their number is ever increasing. Salt’s exhibition, Architectural Education in Turkey: Institutional Thresholds from the 18th Century to the Present, explores the journey of this academic landscape, particularly through the daily life at the institutions, along with the key actors and applied educational programs. Focusing on how formal institutions were established and provided the necessary technical education within diverse built environments, the exhibition also looks into the lives and working conditions of faculty and students, the turmoil and troubles experienced, and opportunities for expansion.

The exhibition is programmed by professors of architecture Uğur Tanyeli and Arzu Erdem and is organized by research associate Esra Kahveci, along with Orkun Dayıoğlu and Eylül Şenses from Salt. Further information on the accompanying public programs will be announced at saltonline.org and Salt’s social media channels.

Founded in 2011 by Garanti BBVA, Salt is a not-for-profit cultural institution in public service engaging in research, exhibitions, publications, web projects, and public programs. The institution works at the intersections of visual practices, the built environment, social life, and economic history. With its library and archive, Salt Research provides public access to the institution’s print and digital resources while contributing to the development of local and regional memory through its expanding collections.