Salt hosts talk on architecture

ISTANBUL

Architectural restoration expert Zeynep Ahunbay will be at SALT Ulus on Sept. 12 for a talk on conservation in the last parallel event organized for the exhibition “Modern Turkey’s Discovery of the Ottoman Heritage: The Ali Saim Ülgen Archive.”

Following his deep interest in cultural heritage for his professional career, Ali Saim Ülgen published his book, “Anıtların Korunması ve Onarılması” (Conservation and Restoration of Monuments), an important work for its contribution to conservation education and theory. The 1943 book was the first in a series about conservation released by the Education Ministry.

Because Ülgen died very young, the planned second volume of the book was never realized. But based on his first volume and unpublished documents from the archive, Ahunbay will evaluate Ülgen’s contribution to the restoration and conservation history of Turkey.

A member of the Restoration Department of Architecture Faculty at Istanbul Technical University (İTÜ), Ahunbay has worked with Professor Metin Ahunbay on the restoration of Istanbul’s walls, the Hagia Sophia (1994-2000).