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Architect Of Architects Sinan
An
architect and a man of science who never stopped experimenting with new
ideas up to the day he died, Sinan created an architecture whose values remain
universal even today. Sinan is an architect who managed to unite in a single person the
entire Ottoman architectural tradition in a period when the Empire’s political power and artistic
achievement were at their zenith. The vast majority, and the most
distinguished, of the buildings he designed were built in the empire’s
then capital, Istanbul. Like a contestant in an architectural competition,
he created ever more innovative works and made a significant contribution
to the city’s silhouette by situating them to the greatest possible
advantage in the urban topography. Simultaneously, he transformed Istanbul
into a virtual open-air museum of unique architectural masterpieces.
suleymaniye8.jpg) LIKE
THE TWO POINTS OF A COMPASS
Sinan was born in the village of Ağırnas in the Ottoman ‘sancak’ or
province of Kayseri at an
unknown date (possibly between 1494 and 1499). While undergoing training
as a boy for the
Janissary Corps (the Ottoman military class), he already put in his
request for the occupation of builder and went out of his way to work on
construction sites so as to attract the attention of the master builders.
He says that at such jobs he felt as ‘resolute as the fixed point of a
compass’ although he also ‘aspired to traveling in other lands like the
compass’s moving point’. That aspiration was fulfilled when, as a
janissary during the reign of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent, he took
part in the Ottoman campaigns to Belgrade (1521), Rhodes (1522), Mohacs
(1526), Vienna (1529), Germany (1532), and
 Persia and Baghdad (1534-35)
and, despite a shortage of tools and materials, built three galleys armed
with rifles and cannons to cross Lake Van for reconnaissance purposes. As
a result of the engineering
feats in which he had
demonstrated his prowess in previous wars, he was promoted to the rank of
‘Haseki’ (sergeant at arms). A bridge he threw up hastily
over the Pruth during the Moldova campaign
of 1538 earned him great
recognition, and he became ‘Chief Architect’ of the Ottoman
Empire the
same year upon the death of the previous
chief architect, Acem Alisi. The
various cultural monuments of East and West that he saw on the campaigns
in which he took part, the problems he encountered
that needed quick solution, the discipline he acquired in the military,
and his familiarity with supervision and organization must have
given Sinan experience and insight as well as developing his talents for
 design and management. Serving as chief architect for the
lengthy span of fifty years, Sinan during this
period not only designed
477 buildings but also supervised the construction and repair of
his designs.
When we examine the life of Sinan we encounter the story of a
creator who was never satisfied with
what he did but was forever thinking,
investigating and innovating further.
ARCHITECT
OF MOSQUES
Sinan is an architect who made significant contributions to the design of
mosques as the key
spaces of Ottoman architecture. Haseki (1539), the first mosque he built
after being appointed
Chief Architect, is a traditional space typical of its period and
exhibiting no innovations of any kind. But
the Mihrimah Mosque (1540?-48) at Üsküdar, on which Sinan started work
immediately afterwards, represents a turning point with its semi-domes
that surround the main dome on three sides; before it was finished he
embarked on the Şehzade Mosque as well. Starting from a single-domed
structure on a four-pillar base, Sinan enriched the space by the addition
of semi-domes, gradually elevating the central space
and incorporating the entire structure inside a pyramid. The Şehzade
Mosque is the most advanced example of a central dome atop a square base
with four
semi-domes. The buttresses that support the four pillars of this mosque
are masterfully employed as
design elements on both the interior and the exterior. If on the other
hand they had been used purely for support, they might have appeared
rather clumsy. Sinan would use such buttresses later in
the Süleymaniye and Selimiye mosques as well. Following the Süleymaniye,
Sinan undertook a number of experiments on a hexagonal scheme under
 the
influence of the Üç Şerefeli or ‘Three-Balconied’ Mosque that he had seen
at Edirne. We observe in
these experiments that the scheme of
a central symmetrical space which he had implemented
heretofore is
extended now across the width of the mosque. Another problem whose
solution Sinan
discerned is that of surmounting a rectangular space with
domes and semi- domes on a
hexagonal scheme. Despite his firm attachment to the
hexagonal pattern, we observe that Sinan returned occasionally to the
square
plan. And each return is characterized by further innovations and new
initiatives.Sinan never abandoned his quest for the new. The
Rüstem Paşa Mosque with its dome that sits on an octagonal base is the
product of yet another new design. The scheme with which
he experiments here reaches maturity in the Selimiye Mosque at
Edirne. With this mosque, which is not
 only the most beloved work of
Ottoman architecture but also Sinan’s own favorite, he truly achieved his
desire to surpass the Haghia Sophia. Secure on its weight-bearing system,
it stands simple and whole under a monumental dome, bearing no resemblance
to the Haghia Sophia in terms of
either its space or the weight-bearing capacity of its hexagonal and
octagonal schemes. And with this octagonal scheme that is employed in the
Selimiye to monumental effect, the Haghia Sophia ceases
to be a benchmark.
DESIGNER AND MAN OF SCIENCE
Although architects did not occupy a very important place in government
protocol during the
Ottoman period, Sinan’s position is quite different. Sinan, who designed
buildings not only for three different sultans but for a large number of
men of state as well, is known to have been a beloved architect of high
standing. Charged by Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent with bringing water
to Istanbul, Sinan successfully completed this extremely difficult and
technically challenging job,
thereby earning the sultan’s appreciation, as is evidenced by the fact
that he assigned Sinan the
task of inaugurating a great mosque like Süleymaniye which he had had
built in his own name.
“The
large mosques, smaller mosques and other important structures, which I
first designed on
paper and then constructed, I wrote up and developed into a unique
treatise of thirteen chapters and entitled, ‘An Account of the Imperial
Buildings’”, says Sinan. “It is my hope that the
friends of pure heart who will glance at it from now until the end of time
will take a generous view of it when they realize the seriousness and
striving of my efforts, and that they will remember me in their prayers
with good will.” This treatise, in the nature of a memoir in which he
describes his life and works, documents the human acts of an ordinary
human being. But when we consider his
works and compare his complex designs and their implementation, which
demanded so much knowledge and effort, with those of the
West, Sinan emerges as a born genius who completed a large number of
flawless monuments within a very short time. Sinan was not blindly bound
to tradition. He was a designer and a man of science
who was analytical and open to new ideas, and who drew the correct lessons
and inspiration from what he saw, forging asynthesis in accordance with his
own views. Sinan, who continued experimenting and investigating right up
to the end of his life, who found new solutions for problems of topography,
composition, space, volume and structure, and who produced a wide rangeof
advanced and original buildings, is an enduring icon of Ottoman, indeed of
Islamic, architecture.
Bron:
THY
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