Bruno Taut

Bruno Taut, who made a name for himself as a designer of public housing, worked for some time in Turkey. He recognized the trend in architecture towards the need to satisfy the requirements of the public as an art in itself. He supported the principles of modern architecture both in his work and in his writings.

After graduating from high school, Taut entered the Vocational School for Constructional Design in Konisberg. After finishing there in 1901, he worked for some time in an architectural bureau. In 1904 he began to work in the office of the architect and town-planner, Fischer. In 1908 he was in Berlin where he both worked and followed courses in town-planning at the university there. He was in Berlin again in 1914 where he set up an office with his brother, Max Taut (1884-1967) and Hoffman. He became a member of the German "Werkbund" with the aim of creating a union between the Fine Arts and the Practical Arts. His first works were realized as a preparation for more advanced work in the future. In 1936 he was invited to Turkey, where he had previously come in 1916 for the Turco-German Friendship House competition. There he worked at the Architectural Department of the Academy of Fine Arts and designed educational buildings for the Ministry of Education. His chief works in Turkey are the building for the Faculty of Languages, History and Geography (Ankara, 1936-38); Ataturk High School (1937-1938), in co-operation with the architect Asim Komurcuoglu and the contractor, Franz Hillinger; the Taut House, his residence (1937-1938) Ortakoy, Istanbul; the Republic Girls' Institute (Izmir,1938) and in 1938 the catafalque in Ankara for Ataturk's funeral ceremony.

Taut had the desire to unite local architectural features of the place he lived in, such as Japan or Turkey where architectural practice followed their own traditions, with modern thought in architecture and art. He was the first contemporary architect to give colour a prominent place in his designs. He was interested in every kind of architectural feature, painting pictures and designing furniture as well as creating decor for theatres and cinemas. His capacity to live life to the fullest and his ability to answer the needs of the community made him one of the foremost architects of the 20th century.