Ship-Shaped: Ankara's Frank Lloyd Wright-Inspired 'Gemi Ev'
From the brutalist campus of ODTÜ to the avant-garde parliament mosque, the capital is home to a vast collection of eclectic modernist architecture.
Blooming from a modest Anatolian town into the capital of a new nation, Ankara’s 20th-century trajectory was largely shaped by visionary modernist architects that left an indelible mark on the city. As it has expanded into a metropolis with a population of nearly 6 million and the requisite drab residences and skyscrapers that come along with such rapid growth, the central district of Çankaya manages to retain its charming character. Home to a million of the city’s residents and most of its government buildings and foreign embassies, Çankaya is studded with the highest concentration of modernist germs anywhere in Turkey.
The epitome of Ankara’s modernist glory is Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ), the campus of which is a brutalist wonderland designed by iconic architect Behruz Çinici in the 1960’s. I had a field day taking photos there on my first visit five years ago, when school was out and I was practically alone with the dozens of sharp, imposing concrete edifices. (Check out this thread for more snapshots).
Çinici’s other masterpiece is the mosque located inside the grounds of the Turkish parliament, a stunning modernist achievement completed in 1989. The award-winning mosque—which for years had a cluster of poplar trees standing in as its minaret—has ruffled feathers due to its unique style, and there were murmurs about its potential demolition about a decade ago. The complex was not torn down, but in 2018, the trees were controversially removed, and there was an announcement that a traditional minaret was to be erected, though that never happened either. The mosque still remains a major source of intrigue for me as I have not seen it in person. Parliament is open for visitors every first Saturday of the month, and though I’ve been to Ankara dozens of times over the years, it never has coincided with that day.
As I’ve explored the capital, I’ve delighted in reading about the history of its modernist buildings before going out and photographing them, though until recently I had not paid a visit to one of the most shining examples, Danyal Tevfik Çiper’s splendid Gemi Ev (Ship House). Built in 1968 atop a looming hill in Çankaya before most of the surrounding area had been developed, this one-of-a-kind three-story apartment has been impressively maintained over the past half-century. Çiper designed the building for the Özkanlar brothers—friends of his who gave the architect full creative freedom.
In a 2007 interview, Çiper was keen to acknowledge the influence that Frank Lloyd Wright had on his work, going as far to say that the American doyenne was the only architect he ever liked. It is indeed impossible to gaze upon the Gemi Ev without seeing the keen resemblance to New York’s Guggenheim. Initially named after the brothers who commissioned it, it wasn’t long before the building became known as the Ship House, though Çiper curiously claimed that any resemblance to watercraft was merely coincidental due to its aerodynamic features. It is difficult to imagine that the architect didn’t envision a maritime vessel when drawing up his plans, but as Çiper passed away in 2008, the inspiration lays to rest with its master.
While much of Europe has been going through a sweltering heat wave, Istanbul and Ankara have remained remarkably mild in the beginning of summer. On a recent Saturday, the ample cloud cover made it a perfect day for urban exploration, so I walked for half an hour from the Gaziosmanpaşa neighborhood, passing numerous embassies, the sprawling Çankaya Köşkü, the lush Seğmenler Parkı and the towering Atakule before reaching the intersection of Hoşdere and Fuar Street, upon which the Gemi Ev is triumphantly “docked.” Not wanting to disturb residents on a weekend, I didn’t try to get inside the building, so while I managed to get some satisfying shots from multiple exterior angles, the interior and the “deck”/rooftop remain a mystery for now.
Used to walk by the ship house all the time when our family lived in Ankara in the 70s. It was my first exposure to modern architecture. And I remember thinking back to it when I first saw the Guggenheim years later.
Thank you for this piece, I enjoyed every bit of it :)) Wonderful to see the Gemi Ev getting the attention it deserves !!!