250-room residence to be built for Turkish president next to 1,000-room palace: Chamber of Architects

Construction at the controversial new presidential complex in Ankara has still yet to be completed, as a new residence for the president with an estimated 250 rooms will also be built in addition to the 1,000-room palace, the Ankara branch of the Chamber of Architects has stated.

“The complex does not only consist of an unlicensed palace. The residence where the president will live is set to be around 7,000 square meters, according to our calculations,” Chamber of Architects Ankara Branch Head Tezcan Karakuş Candan said, adding that the building will include approximately 250 rooms.

The complex has become an “unlicensed center” with a planned 4,000-person capacity mosque and a culture center for the residents of the palace - a “symbol of effulgence and expense" in the words of Candan.

“The architecture of the 4,000-person mosque is also overblown and a copy,” she added.

‘Cultural heritage under threat’

Candan also said the Marmara Mansion, used by the founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, could not be seen in the new palace plan.

“The absence of Atatürk’s house in the location plan means that it is at risk,” she said, referring to the building located at the same site and stressing that they were not allowed to enter the site of the complex to check for the preservation of cultural heritage.

“The president thinks a powerful country requires a big palace. The White House, which is 5,109 square meters, is one of the smallest palaces in the world. That [logic] would mean the U.S. is a small state. So a ‘big palace’ does not mean ‘big country,’” Candan added.

The vice president of the branch, Ali Atakan, said there was "no sign of the...