Construction Grant For Ebniye Master Builders In The Late Ottoman Era

Abstract

The renovations/regulations in the institutional structure of Ottoman State that started with the Tanzimat Era required/ brought out a novel organization. In the process, Hassa Mimarlar Ocağı (The Corps of Royal Architects), the active institution of the Ottoman architecture during the classical period and till the early 19th century, gave its place to the Ebniye İdaresi (Directorate of Buildings), handing over all sorts of building and construction works to the Şehremaneti (Istanbul Municipality). Henceforth, with new regulations at certain intervals, the Ebniye Kanunları (Building Laws) were introduced in an effort to inspect the construction activities. As the most eminent figures of the era, Ebniye master builders became responsible for all stages of construction production processes within the architectural activities. Despite the fact that educated architects started to emerge together with the introduction of the first architecture school, both local and non-Muslim contractors, architects and master builders from abroad remained as the dominant actors till the early 20th century due to the scarcity of schooled ones.  This study reviews the qualitative issues of the ebniye master builders who carried out the construction processes of civil and state buildings, with samples from central and provincial cases based on a number of documents found in the Ottoman Archives. Quality and standard issues in the construction materials of the era together with the troublesome construction activities causing technical and financial problems between the master builders and employers were cited by certain contemporary master builders. As a result of the petitions of master builders stating their troubles and proposed solutions, and the efforts of the Şehremaneti (Istanbul Municipality), it was decided that a şehadetname (construction building testimonial) would be issued to ebniye masterbuilders; however, the method was abandoned after its application for a while.