In 1936 the famous architect and urbanist Henri Prost was appointed as per the request of the city administration to come up with İstanbul’s city plan. Prost first re-arranged Sultanahmet Square, then he tackled Cumhuriyet Square after some impossibilities entered the picture. He recommended that Cumhuriyet Square become the public's new ceremony and gathering grounds. He proposed the Artillery Corps Barracks be replaced with a terrace that opened onto the square with a promenade park behind it. Amongst his designs were a viewing terrace that would be created by tearing down the Ottoman State Bank management housing and the adjacent buildings, as well as a grand theater building which would be transformed later on into the Atatürk Culture Center (AKM)