In 1917, as World War I on full swing, the towers and roof of Haydarpaşa Train Station were burned and considerably damaged due to a sabotaged train explosion. Eventually, the Ministry of Public Works organized a project competition to entirely renovate the train station building and repair the roof. The Haydarpaşa Train Station renovation competition of 1925 was the first architectural competition held for İstanbul during the Republic era. The new government’s ideal to cover the entire country with an iron web with Ankara at its center made inevitable the renovation of Haydarpaşa Train Station, which held a symbolic meaning as the gateway of former capital İstanbul to the newly minted capital Ankara and all of Anatolia. Published in the December 1925 issue of Demiryolları Mecmuası (Railway Journal), Nazimî Yaver’s prize-winning proposal, though not executed, was radical enough to easily transform the existing German Renaissance typology of the building. Built with a wooden structure and slated, the height of the original roof was considerably lowered. For the side towers, conical roofs featuring a circular plan and wide eaves carried by cast-iron beams were envisaged. Of the three gable walls that disappeared during the fire of the sea façade, only the one at the center was repeated in a similar form, but lower and with pilasters.
Photo: A Young Nazimî Yaver is featured on the Cumhuriyet newspaper after he won the competition for European education travel gift.
For more information about our exhibition, please visit our web site!