Seyfi Arkan

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Abdurrahman Seyfettin Arkan, also known as Seyfi Nasih, (1903 – 15 July 1966) was a Turkish architect and Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s personal architect. He was born in Istanbul in 1903 and studied at Kadıköy French School and Galatasaray High School. He trained at the Sanayi-i Nefise Mektebi (Academy of Fine Arts) and finished top of his class in 1928 under Vedat Tek. After winning the Çanakkale Monument Competition, he was sent to Europe to continue his education, where he studied with German architect Hans Poelzig from 1929 to 1932 and worked in his workshop. He also researched school buildings, workers’ housing and stadiums during his time in Europe.

He returned to Turkey in 1933 and began teaching urbanism at the Academy of Fine Arts. Poelzig’s modern ideas and Berlin’s culture influenced his work. In 1933 Arkan won the Çankaya Hariciye Köşkü contest and designed several important buildings for Atatürk, including the Glass Villa at Çankaya Köşkü, the president’s official residence, and in 1935 the Florya Atatürk Marine Mansion, a Bauhaus-style residence that is now a museum. Arkan worked as Atatürk’s private architect on many projects and died on 15 July 1966.