A WOMAN ARCHITECT IN A VILLAGE INSTITUTE: HASANOĞLAN VILLAGE INSTITUTE AND MUALLA EYÜBOĞLU ANHEGGER

Abstract

Promoted by Atatürk, Village Institutes initiatives was one of the essential steps for Turkey's population in villages and districts for access to education. The biggest reason for this situation is that the majority of the population lived in villages in the first years of the Republic and educational activities were neglected due to the post-war destruction and economic situation. Therefore, various Turkish intellectuals, especially Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who gave great importance to this issue, expressed that the most significant steps in terms of development should be started from the villages with their initiatives. The village institutes, whose preparations were formed in 1935, were tried in 1937, and in 1940 they were placed on a legal basis. The purpose of village institutes, in addition to training teachers, was also providing training for various occupational groups. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk thought that the life of the revolutions could not be prolonged as long as the villagers, who constitute the great majority of the population, were not educated and enlightened. Many architects were allowed to take part in the planning and implementation of village institute buildings and institutes were established in many villages of many provinces. Following the fourteen village institutes established between 1940 and 1941, it was decided to launch the fifteenth institute near Ankara. As a result of the field researches carried out in 1941, Hasanoğlan village, which is 35 km away from Ankara, was selected. It is seen that Mualla Eyüboğlu Anhegger, one of the first female architects of the Republic period, played an active role in the establishment of the Hasanoğlan Village Institute and in the architectural design process, which will be examined within the scope of the study. What makes Anhegger different from other architects of the period is that she played a role in the formation of village institutes both as an educator and as an architect. She continued to carry out this duty in Hasanoğlan Village Institute until 1947 when she caught deadly malaria and had to leave her duty. In the context of the education that Atatürk valued, it is aimed to examine the multi-faceted contributions of architect Mualla Eyüboğlu Anhegger to the Hasanoğlan Village Institute, which constitutes the scope of the study, with the identity of an educator as well as an architect through descriptive case study approach which is among qualitative research methods.