Architecture | EMIN ONAT: FOUNDER AND ARCHITECT | Gallery

A Life Born in The Constitutional Era and Continuing into The Republic 1908-1961 | Architecture | Founder

EMIN ONAT: FOUNDER AND ARCHITECT | Architecture

Emin Onat’s identity as an architect began to form in the ETH years in Zurich.

The years M.Emin Halid spent in ETH follow a bright curve of success. It was a great opportunity. His teacher, Otto R. Salvisberg, was not only a well-known and a good designer, but also well-versed in thought on architecture and experienced in its application. He was an architect who gave his own interpretation to the Bauhaus style, enriching it with a simple, functional but plastic emphasis.
M.Emin would learn to seek, experiment with and interpret Modernism from his teacher.

Onat’s functionalist style, that featured in his architecture for a period of five years and brought him more competition projects, began to change under the influence of the ‘rediscovering the traditional’ concept of the era commencing in the 40s.

These years were more of a time of searching for a reference for Onat. The Village Institute project competitions of 1941 must have been a major factor in this orientation. A perspective that attempted to bring together the local with a view opening from a large city to a village environment with rationalist principles was observed in Onat. Onat’s individual approach with the ‘monumental/academic’ style of the Anatolian era intensified in the interpretation of the rationale of Anatolian residential architecture in partnerships with S. Hakkı Eldem. In this era, Onat’s architecture is characterised by a return to Modernism. Onat designed his most notable buildings in this era.

There are four eras of Onat's Architecture with ETH years in Zurich:

ETH years in Zurich 1928-1934
Functional 1934-1938
Local and Nostalgic 1938-1953
A Return to His Roots 1953-1961

	1928-1934 ETH years in Zurich: Perhaps the most important project of his time as a student was Haus: Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pascha. It is a preliminary drawing whose aesthetic quality lay in its simplicity.

	1928-1934 ETH years in Zurich: His dissertation, which was awarded a first, is the Zurich Urban Renewal Project introduced as the Salvisberg model work.

	1928-1934 ETH years in Zurich: ETH was a preparatory phase that was promising for himself and his future.

1934-1938 Functional: This first phase of the architecture of Onat is the years of trial and research conforming to the rationalist and functional concept of the Bauhaus School and the aesthetic context. The experiments mostly consist of competition projects: 1. Istanbul Theatre and Conservatoire Project Contest, 1935 Unplaced (The Picture Shown) 2. Municipalities Bank Project Contest, 1935, 2nd Mention. 3. Yürükali Beach Project Contest, 1935 1st Award jointly with A.Sabri Oran. 4. Istanbul Port Galata Passenger Waiting Room (International Gar Maritim), 1936, jointly with A. Sabri Oran 2nd Award. 5. Kadıköy Halkevi Project Contest, 1938, 2nd Award, jointly with A.Sabri Oran. 6. Sivas Halkevi, 1938, jointly with Sabri Oran, 2nd Award.

	1934-1938 Functional: Istanbul Port Galata Passenger Waiting Room (International Gar Maritim), 1936.