"The first modern - ministry of health building": A spatial transformation of architectural heritage

Abstract

Ankara, due to be made the capital of Turkey, has shaped through the government buildings especially Ministerial buildings being the symbolic structures that undertake the representation of politic power. These structures, were built primarily after the proclamation of the Republic, still exist in the city. Some of the Ministerial buildings have served to similar functions since the date of construction, while others have been transferred or discharged to different functions by the dictations of urban transformation that has become a dominant discourse after 21st century in all parts of the city for all types of buildings. Within the scope of the study, the structural and spatial transformation of one of the Ministerial buildings -Ministry of Health- has been discussed. In the researches on the Early Republican Period, this structure appears as the first modern building of the period and was designed by an Austrian architect Theodor Jost. The aim of the study is to investigate what kind of policy is followed in the renewal of this immovable cultural asset. For this purpose, a comparison was made on the original and the present situation of the building. After all, it was concluded that the minimum change was made in the facade and the mass of the building; however, the interior structure underwent radical changes.