Architectural Landmark No More

Tercuman Newspaper Office Building | Istanbul, Turkey Architects: Gunay Cilingiroglu[1], Muhlis Tunca

Mavi Boncuk | END OF A SIGNATURE BUILDING

Tercüman newspaper's 49-year-old building on the London Anenue in Zeytinburnu was demolished due to earthquake risk. The building in the letter T, whose concrete blocks stood in the gap with wings opening, was demolished.

The project of the Tercüman newspaper building was selected by the competition organised by Kemal Ilıcak, the founder of the newspaper. The building designed by Gunay Cilingiroglu[1], Muhlis Tunca, was completed in 1974.

The building, which is viewed with interest by those passing through E-5, was designed as a production line where paper enters as a roll at one end and the finished newspaper comes out at the other end. The building, consisting of 3 blocks, was sold together with the newspaper due to a financial crisis in 1993 and was evacuated after a while.

See also: Tercuman Building at Brutalist Architecture Site

Compared with the brutalist architecture of the neighbouring countries, it is rare to find bold and courageous architectural designs in Turkey where the limits of structural elements were pushed. One of the boldest examples from this period is Tercuman Newspaper Building in Merter, Istanbul which has been designed and carried out by Gunay Cilingiroglu ve Muhlis Tunca. Its neighbourhood was back then not developed and the building plot was not surrounded by any buildings.

Thus the building had an idiosyncratic plastic effect which could be perceived from a distance. Located next to one of the main arterial roads in Istanbul, even from a moving car it catches the eye thanks to its alluding plastic effect. The main element which creates this plastic effect is actually the structure of the building. The structure consists of 7 meter long cantilevers and 8 towers carrying these cantilevers. Thanks to these towers it was possible to create a continuous space inside the building. On the other hand, the design has also received some criticism due to its high construction cost as well as the limited usable space.

Tercuman Newspaper Building nevertheless has a special place in Turkish architectural practice thanks to its out of the box, unconventional design and bold structural expression.

[1] Architect Günay Çilingiroğlu, born in 1936, was born in Mudanya. After graduating from Galatasaray High School, which he entered in 1947, in 1956, he graduated from Istanbul Technical University Faculty of Architecture in 1961. In the same year, he received a scholarship from the Italian Government and did an internship in Italy in 1961-1962. In 1963-67, he worked as an assistant for the Architectural Project Department at the Architecture Department of the Istanbul State Engineering and Architecture Academy and continued to work freelance in his own office. Çilingiroğlu, who participated in many architectural project competitions between 1962-1975, won the First Prize in Istanbul Advertising Site (with Muhlis Tunca) competition; Izmit Petrochemical Facilities Administration Building and Campus (with Emin Necip Specialist, İsmet Turhal), Istanbul Demirciler Site (with M.Tunca), Bebek-Etiler Site Development Plan (with M. Tunca) and Ortaköy Esma Sultan Complex Complex. The projects he presented to the invited competitions were selected to be implemented. The fact that the reinforced concrete curtains at the time of the Tercuman Journalism and Printing facilities in Topkapı at that time (1972-1974) against horizontal loads (earthquake forces) was the clearest sign of his farsightedness. Günay Çilingiroğlu passed away on August 18, 2010.