ARCHITECT TO IMPERIAL COURT AND REPUBLIC: VEDAD TEK |
Vedad Tek's Life
was the son of Sırrı Paşa, the Governor-General of Baghdad and the composer Leyla (Saz) Hanım. However, he broke away from his social background when he aimed at becoming, not a state official, but an artist and graduated from the . His career stretched from being Chief Imperial Architect to a teacher at the and the architect of the National Parliament Building under the new established Republic. However, at that point, his dreams encountered disappointment. For some unknown reason, he fell from favour and continued his career as a free-lance architect in the private sector. In Tek’s archives, letters and photographs of his family present the story of his life
Footnote for Researchers:
For historians and historians of architecture; there are obviously important documents, such as letters written to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Ismet İnönü and the Republican People’s Party, claiming non-payment of sums for the Parliament building in Ankara and other projects as well as the replies to these. These letters are also important documents for the history of freelance architecture in Turkey and the relationship between architect and patron.
For historians and sociologists; the daily life and clothes of a family of the late Ottoman period which had close connections with the palace is worth noticing, as well as the fact that annotations on the back of the photographs of his daughter, Selime, are written in French.
Architects and interior designers will benefit from examining; the various aspects of Vedat Tek House II and its furniture
For photographers, the photographs signed Phebus, Abdullah Freres and etc. are worth inspecting.