Prize for sheltering: Architectural competitions and displaying the social housing production in mid-century Istanbul

Abstract

The post-war housing crisis was a global phenomenon and manifested in Turkey. Despite its absence from the war, the subsequent economic difficulties prompted rural populations to relocate to the cities. Istanbul became a popular destination for domestic migrants, and as the 1950s drew near, the housing crisis gave rise to the potential for the emergence of slums and urban sprawl. In order to address this issue, the government initiated significant measures to facilitate social housing production. In order to facilitate a participatory production process, they held architectural competitions to design social housing. The young architects awarded prizes in these competitions subsequently participated in the housing production process for remainder of their professional careers. Concurrently, exhibitions were organized worldwide, providing a platform for countries to share their experiences with social housing. Türkiye Emlak Kredi Bank, the institution responsible for producing social housing, participated in these international exhibitions and represented the country. This study examines the outcomes of social housing competitions held in mid-century Istanbul to address the housing crisis. Also, it analyses the impact of these competitions on the city’s housing production culture. In particular, the information obtained from periodicals proved invaluable in identifying the architectural competitions, the organizing institution, the jury members, and the architects and engineers who received degrees. A review of the architectural retrospectives of the award winners revealed their contributions to social housing production process in Istanbul after the competitions. This research contributed to history of housing production in the 20th century by revealing previously invisible information.