KEMAL AHMET ARU' S ARCHIVE
Foreign Architects in Turkey
"I owe my reputation as a town planner to . I have never referred to myself as a town planner. I am an architect, and I combine the two. Prof. used to say the same. Oelsner was a very interesting man and an extremely refined person. He used to say, 'An architect can do town planning if he wants to. If a town planner has the ability he can be an architect.'"
"Let's go back to the years 1945-1948, the years with Oelsner, and sometimes Bonatz. and I worked on the projects for the first Bosphorus Bridge. My real university training took place then, in the most colourful fashion. To be together with these men, to engage in constant research with them, to work with them They had their own colourful characteristics, their own attractive personalities. Oelsner was an extremely sincere person. He was devoted to Turkey.
I spent many very pleasant years with Holzmeister. He rented the Sumer Palas Hotel amidst the pines. It was an imposing office, and there he drew up the plans for the Turkish Grand National Assembly buildings. (…) Holzmeister was an excellent teacher, a hardworking man who approached problems with a comprehensive knowledge and understanding. He was extremely proficient in design. He was an extraordinarily intelligent, philosophical sort of man. He had a very pleasant, totally individual approach to design. Bonatz always held himself at a certain distance from Oelsner. They would continually tease each other.