Sedad Hakki Eldem: The silent ambassador of Turkish architecture

Sedad Hakki Eldem has often been defined as Turkey's 'State Architect' for many reasons, but his constant reference to vernacular architecture was driven by a very refined culture of also a transnational character. An analysis of his correspondence demonstrates that he was also an internationally renowned intellectual who through his work became a sort of 'ambassador' of that culture for which his family had always advocated. Eldem is a minor figure in the Western world, probably because he was too tied to Turkish cultural events to be considered as highly as Pikionis or Pouillon. The aim of this paper is to bring to light unknown aspects of Eldem's work which have never been taken into consideration, thereby often creating a somewhat misleading portrait of this architect.