Léon Gurekian

Léon Gurekian (, ; 26 April 1871 in Constantinople2 September 1950 in Asolo) was an Ottoman Armenian architect, writer and political activist. He was active in the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria and Italy.

Biography

Léon Gurekian, the son of Hovhannes Gurekian and Prapion Yeremian, was born in Constantinople on 26 April 1871. His Armenian family originated and resided in Trebizond and worked in business relations between the Middle East and Europe, especially Marseille.

He first studied in Trebizond before completing his studies at the Mechitarist Moorat-Raphael College in Venice in 1888. He then went to Rome where he graduated in 1895 both from the "Regio Istituto di Belle Arti di Roma" with the Diploma of Professor of architectural design and from the "Regia Scuola di Applicazione degli Ingegneri" with a degree in architecture.

He married Mariamik Azarian in 1901, in Constantinople. Their only son, Ohannés Gurekian, was born in 1902 and was also an architect.

Career

Bulgaria

Shortly after returning to Constantinople in 1896, he managed to escape the pogroms of the Armenians by the Sultan Abdul Hamid II by taking refuge in Bulgaria. After getting his architecture degree recognized by the Bulgarian Government, he designed various buildings and won the contest to design the Municipal Professional Theatre in Varna which was later built with only slight modifications by Bulgarian architect Nikola Lazarov.

Constantinople

Returning to Constantinople in 1899, Gurekian designed numerous buildings in the town and on the islands of Prinkipo (Islands of Prince, Büyükada). During his period he had contacts with the architects of the Balyan family, which family archive includes many original drawings and photos. During this period Gurekian was also intensely politically active, publishing under a pseudonym in Armenian newspapers.

Italy On 7 September 1907, he moved suddenly and without apparent explanation to Rome.

In 1908 he obtained from the Regio Istituto di Belle Arti di Roma

From 19141918 the First World War forced him to stay in Asolo where he made a living as a photographer.

In 1919 he went to Paris where he published a political analysis of World War I in the form of an animal allegory: "The Responsible". While there he also participated in political efforts towards the constitution of the Independent Republic of Armenia.

In 1922, becoming bitterly aware of the impossibility of returning to what would be the Independent Armenian Republic given the failure of the Treaty of Versailles (1919), he decided to settle in Asolo and designed and built his home there.

From that moment, he totally abandoned architecture. He published a series of political and philological studies, mostly in the Armenian language. In "Kars and Ardahan" he put forward the Armenian claim to those provinces, which were ceded to Turkey in the Treaty of Alexandropol.

At the end of the Second World War a Delegation of the Soviet Armenian Republic went to Asolo to ask Gurekian if he was willing to move to Armenia. Being already sick he refused, but stated in support of that cause that: behind me there was always a photograph of General Antranik (Andranik Ozanian).

He died in Asolo on 2 September 1950 and was buried in family grave.

Architectural Contributions

Bulgaria 1896-1898

1897 Casino - Kasorlik Agricultural Cash and Savings - Sofia and other cities Villa - Sofia Villa of the ing. Nicolof - Sofia 1898 Theater in Varna - competition (first prize)

Ottoman Empire 1898-1907 1898 Armenian Church - Trabzon Accommodation of Sisters - Samsoun Church Our Lady of Lourdes of Georgian Fathers - Constantinople 1899 Dwelling Mndighian - Constantinople Home of Ghiridli Moustafa Pacha - Sultan Ammed - Constantinople Palace of the Grand Vizir Halil Riphath, Pacha - Nichan Tachy - Constantinople Villa Hilmi view Bey - Bebek - Constantinople 1900 Apartments Munif Pacha - Constantinople Apartments Ibraïm Bey Effendi - Constantinople Pavilion for Rachid Pacha - Balta Limar - Constantinople Palace (S)aleddin Pacha - Constantinople Palace Hairiz - Constantinople Palace and pavilions Hassan Pacha - Constantinople Palace Kemaleddine Pacha - Constantinople Palace and Guard House Moustafa Bey on the Bosphorus - Hissar - Constantinople Villa Candilli - Constantinople Villa Moustafa Bey - Prinkipo Villa Sami Pacha - Constantinople 1903 Villa Agopian - Prinkipo Apartments Joseph Azarian - Ayaz Pacha (today ) - Constantinople 1904 Apartments Rosenthal - Constantinople Houses in S. Hagop (10 houses) - Constantinople Accommodation gardens Azarian - Pendik 1905 Apartments Gurekian (two buildings) - Pangalti Rue Pariaz - Constantinople Dwelling Chahbaz Maksoud - Chichli - Constantinople 1906 Apartments E. Schahnazar - Constantinople Apartments Léon Gurekian - Constantinople - Ayaz Pacha Apartments Coumbaradji - Constantinople Funerary chapel Yeranouhi Keutcheyan - Constantinople Undated Dwelling Karamanian - Constantinople Dwelling Vedat Bey - Constantinople Dwelling Vefik Bey - Constantinople Apartments Yechil - Constantinople Apartments Karamanian - Constantinople Apartments Macsoud Bey - Asman Bey - Constantinople Apartments Manouelian - Chichli - Constantinoplev Apartments Perouz Agha - Constantinople

Italy 1908-1950 1911 Pavilion of the Ottoman Empire at the International Exhibition - Torino 1913 Funerary chapel family Aïdinian - Trieste 1924 Villa Ararat - Asolo (Treviso)

Publications Léon Gurekian, Il Concilio Cattolico Armeno di Roma, Considerazioni di un Patriota Armeno, Conti e Gandolfi, Sanremo 1912 - (in Italian) Léon Gurekian, The centenary of a couple of poets , Centenary of the birth of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning (Քերթող Ամոլի մը Հարիւրամեակը, Ռոբերտ Բրաւնինգի Ծննդեան Հարիւրամեակը եւ Եղիսաբէթ Բառռէտ-Բրաւնինգ), Scant, Ghalatia 1912 - (in Armenian) Léon Gurekian, L'Armenia nell'anima italiana, C.Colombo, Roma 1919 - (in Italian) Léon Gurekian, Le Responsable - Allégorie historique dans le Règne Animal, Jouve & C.ie Éditeurs, Paris 1919 - (in French) Léon Gurekian, The two-thousandth of Virgil (Վիրգիլեան երկհազարամեակը), San Lazzaro, Venezia 1931 - (in Armenian) Léon Gurekian, Primo Centenario della Fondazione del Collegio Armeno Moorat-Raphaël, Venezia (1836/1936), G.Fabris, Venezia 1936 - (in Italian) Léon Gurekian, Kars e Ardahan - Historical Documentation and National Rights (Կարս եւ Արտահան - Պատմական Հաւաստիք եւ Հայրենաւանդ Իրաւունք), S.Lazzaro, Venezia 1949 - (in Armenian)