ARCHITECT KEMALEDDIN: A LIFE AT ONE OF HISTORY'S TURNING POINTS (1870-1927) |
1925-1927 Foundation Hotel / Ankara Palace Ankara
This was Kemaleddin Bey’s first design project after arriving in Ankara. The hotel was designed in 1924 by Architect Vedad Bey, but when he left the project the hotel was built according to Kemaleddin Bey’s new design and opened for business in the autumn of 1927.
The hotel was the setting for Ankara’s important political and social meetings, particularly during the early years of the Republic, and was a venue for welcoming all the important guests of the state.
The large balcony with pointed arches on the axially planned rectangular mass’ axis, the raised mass and its domed entrance emphasize its orientalist appearance and monumental aspect. There is a magnificent ballroom receiving daylight from above.
The limitation of traditional decoration to balcony parapets and console stones balances the Orientalist emphasis.