IN-PERSON: Prague – Section B

Abstract

In this study, the buildings of İş bank, the first national bank of Turkey, from years 1924 to the 1970s were examined. The establishment of İş bank started with the national economy ideas carried out after the foundation of the Republic. The years between 1923 and 1929 were the periods when the Republic developed both structurally and economically. Ankara was rapidly being built, and the traces of national architecture were reflected in the buildings. This interval also coincided with the development policies of the newly established state. It was deeply valued that the bank to be established should be a “national” bank, and it was also underlined that the state should participate in the capital of the bank and completely dispose of its shares in line with the requests. For this reason, the research aims to observe the characteristic features of the buildings and the similarities and changes of the architectural style between each other through the glance of buildings which were the first witnesses to the development of a nation. In this context, firstly, it was examined whether there was a difference in the styles of the buildings in the central provinces of Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir and in rural cities. The research method takes a chronological approach where the apparent changes occur, so for that reason, ten-year periods from the date of establishment were taken into consideration. The selection of the buildings for the case study were made from both rural settlements and structures in central cities, where resources could be reached. Although İş bank had 429 branches opened until 1970, the availability of resources on a limited number of bank buildings shows that the subject needs more research and make this case study a fruitful contribution to national heritage.