Brutalism and METU Department of Architecture Building in Ankara

Date

2012-01-01

Author

Zelef, Mustafa Haluk

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The authors of this paper present the Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara and especially the Department of Architecture Building. The building designed by Turkish architects Altug and Behruz Cinici is an excellent example of brutalist style, which spread all over the world in the 1960s. Additionally, brutalist aesthetics was considered to be the most proper for university buildings in those years. METU Department of Architecture was the first building in Turkey presenting such character. In its architectural form, being still almost in pristine state, there are visible many solutions typical of brutalism, such as: strong articulation of solids composed in an orthogonal geometry; the use of raw buildings materials - particularly exposed concrete with the imprint of the wooden formwork; repetitive elements creating rhythms on facades; concrete sun-breakers, gargoyles and cornices. Altug and Behruz Cinici were also inspired by local architecture and that's why the building is brutalist but also "traditional". 2011 was the 50th anniversary of the competition for the Department of Architecture Building. Furthermore the architect, the patron (rector) and the landscape designer of the campus all passed away that year. Hence this paper has a historical significance.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/79609

Journal

ACEE Architecture Civil Engineering Environment

Collections

Department of Architecture, Article

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Citation Formats

M. H. Zelef, “Brutalism and METU Department of Architecture Building in Ankara,” ACEE Architecture Civil Engineering Environment, pp. 21–31, 2012, Accessed: 00, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://hdl.handle.net/11511/79609.