Publications

This interview discusses the historically developed culture of small-scale production, craft, and trade along Beyoğlu’s Şişhane, Galata, and Karaköy axis through Aslı Kıyak İngin’s Made in Şişhane project. The text examines the distinctive structure established by the craft networks in the area through material supply, production, and sales processes, and discusses how this structure has changed in the face of urban transformation, tourism, rising rents, and gentrification pressures. It also emphasizes Made in Şişhane’s aim to make craft knowledge visible, relate it to design education, and bring students together directly with workshop experience. The interview reveals that preserving urban production is important not only economically, but also culturally, educationally, and in terms of design.

This article aims to present a design course for artisans conducted at İSMEK, an adult education institution located in Istanbul, Turkey. The twelve-week program aims to teach fundamental concepts of design methodologies and to provide new perspectives on design by offering critical input and mentorship throughout the design process. Participants have no prior design education background; they possess expertise in a specific craft area and are currently working as instructors in their respective fields. Accordingly, the goal of the design course is to enable participants to view existing processes in craft production from a broader perspective by encouraging experimentation and supporting them in generating new interpretations of traditional crafts. As a unique example of designer-craftsman collaboration, this design course is introduced along with its background, context, structure, and outcomes, and its potential contributions to future work are discussed.

A series of design studio courses on sustainability and design is initiated in 2017 at Istanbul Bilgi University, Department of Industrial Design. The series aims to lead the students to think, discuss, get aware of their responsibilities on their decisions, about the environment, living things and resources, in design projects. For this purpose, a design studio course was structured encompassing the processes and methods of sustainable design. The topic was the context of a locality in Turkey, outside campus and within daily life, so students would directly relate with these responsibilities. Similarly, the structure and project briefs of the studio were determined through direct interaction with the locals and the local knowledge of the region. Aiming that, and in line with certain methodologies of sustainable design, three visits were made to the site during the semester; the first by the coordinators before the semester started, the second and the third with students and coordinators, for research and project development phases The research phase was based on core topics related to sustainability and the region: built environment, culture, food, energy, waste, water. During project development students focused on one of these topics and built vision scenarios for future on the grounds of the past and present of the village and proposed system and product designs to facilitate reaching their vision. They shaped their design ideas on the grounds of the local context and shared their projects with stakeholders and inhabitants.

This article focuses on the first in a series of Studio-Sustain studio courses on sustainable design, launched in the Fall 2017 semester at Istanbul Bilgi University's Department of Industrial Product Design. The primary aim of the series is to create an educational environment where design students can become aware of, reflect upon, and discuss their responsibilities towards their environment, living beings, resources, and decisions. To this end, a studio course covering sustainable design processes and methods was designed. The project topic was chosen from outside the studio and from everyday life, within the context of a region in Turkey, to allow students to directly engage with these responsibilities. Barbaros Village in Urla district, where individuals and institutions working on sustainability are located, was selected as the field for the Studio-Sustain course. Studio-Sustain Urla-Barbaros based its main structure and the subject matter of its design projects on the local knowledge of the region. To facilitate direct interaction with this local knowledge and individuals, three visits to the region were planned: a preparatory visit by the studio instructors before the semester began, and visits by the instructors and students throughout the semester during the research and product development processes. Working in groups during the research process, students examined the region through the main headings of waste, energy, food, culture, water, and the built environment determined within the scope of the studio. They shared their findings with the villagers, engaging in idea exchanges that formed the basis of their design projects. Working individually during the project development process, students applied systems design methods, creating vision scenarios for the future based on the region's past and present knowledge. Determining their projects encompassing system and product design based on these scenarios, the students continued to develop their design ideas within the village context with the villagers during a second visit to the region. Following this visit, they finalized their system and product designs based on the knowledge and experience gained in the field and the experiments conducted with the villagers. Studio-Sustain Urla-Barbaros design practice and education is based on determining design through the people, situations, information, requirements, and needs of real life. The primary aim is for design students to question what they are designing and why. Throughout the series, it is planned to examine current studies and situations through partnerships with institutions and individuals working on sustainability, to raise awareness both within and outside the studio, and to develop cultural foundations and sustainable practices.

This publication brings together the processes and outcomes of the Ustaişi Beyoğlu Project, which focuses on the craft workshops, masters, and culture of production in Istanbul’s Beyoğlu district. By reconsidering the traditional master-apprentice relationship through contemporary education and design methods, the project aimed to develop an alternative model of learning and working in which young people could participate in craft production.

The book documents the Contemporary Apprenticeship Program, master-apprentice seminars, workshop improvement works, creative design workshops, craft and design projects carried out with university students, the ZET: Conference on Crafts, Education and Design, and the “The Crafts, Once Again...” exhibition. The publication considers Beyoğlu’s small-scale production networks not only as a cultural heritage that should be preserved, but also as a current and productive resource in terms of design, education, and local development.

The project was supported by the Istanbul Development Agency and carried out under the coordination of the Culture City Foundation, in collaboration with Beyoğlu Municipality, Istanbul Bilgi University, and various craft workshops.

In.formal academy by Made in Sishane: Issue 04, Labor and Education, Istanbul / April 2015 Editors: Aslı Kıyak İngin, Sevgi Ortaç Translation: Çiğdem Buğdaycı 4th issue of IN.FORMAL Academy on Labor and Education consists of two meetings we organized at the end of 2014 at the ateliers of Artin Aharon and Turgay Ebcim to discuss education,labor relations and collaborative production in crafts and design, based on the experience of Şişhane. Instead of considering the craft neighborhood as a obsolete phenomenon of production and network, we search for a new understanding of it’s potentialities in the context of labor relations and education in order to imagine the future of craft and design culture. 1. The Labor of the Following Day took place on 13 November 2014 at Artin Aharon’s atelier with the participation of Artin Aharon, Aslı Kıyak İngin, Çağatay Özkardaşlar, Elif Akçay, Erdoğan Altındiş, Özlem Er, Pelin Tan, Sevgi Ortaç and Yelta Köm. 2. For the Love of Donning an Apron and Getting to Work took place on 4 December 2014 at Turgay Ebcim’s atelier with the participation of Ali Soyutürk, Aslı Kıyak İngin, Hamdi Öksüzömer, Sevgi Ortaç and Turgay Ebcim. Published in the context of Adhocracy Athens: From making things to making the commons. Onassis Cultural Centre, Athens, April 29th-June 27th, 2015

Within the scope of this paper, an educational approach that has been ongoing since 2013 within the framework of the second-year ID 202 Design Studio course in the Department of Industrial Product Design at the Faculty of Architecture, Istanbul Bilgi University, and the transformation of design education and the possibilities of new methods through this model are discussed. Small-scale urban production districts in Istanbul offer important opportunities for understanding and practicing materials and production techniques. To date, collaborative work with industry has been prioritized in undergraduate design education, and the contribution of such small-scale urban production districts and craft workshops to education has not been sufficiently and effectively evaluated. Through this model, the studio course has been moved from the campus to the city and to craft workshops by seeking to integrate the city’s craft workshops and their local materials and production techniques more actively into design education. Thus, second-year design students both take part in active production in craft workshops as apprentices, learn by making, and have the chance to experience the processes from within, enabling them to observe over an extended period of time. In this model, instead of sequential design and production processes, an interactive design, production, and education process in which the two take place together is carried out; materials, production techniques, the craftsperson’s knowledge, and the workshop environment directly constitute inputs for design; and thinking and designing through making are put into action. During the studio, students were matched with workshops specializing in different materials and production techniques within the craft network in the Şişhane and Galata area, such as metal, wood, lampshade, chandelier, wire, pantograph, acrylic, and saz workshops. Students worked as apprentices alongside masters in the workshops they selected in pairs and became part of the production process. In this way, they had the opportunity to understand, research, and experiment with materials and production techniques from within the process; at the same time, while getting to know the actors with whom they collaborated, they gained new experiences and awareness in the social and urban context. This model, which was put into practice through the pluralistic perspective followed by Istanbul Bilgi University’s Department of Industrial Product Design in design education and proposed in collaboration with the Made in Şişhane project, which conducts fieldwork in the area, continues to be developed and structured through experiences in the field, the contributions of the teaching staff, and feedback from students and workshops.

The “Advocating Sustainable and Participatory Models” section in the book is an interview conducted by Demet Mutman with Aslı Kıyak İngin, and it addresses İngin’s approach advocating sustainable and participatory planning models in the city. It is emphasized that in the reconstruction of the city, local communities, academia, local government, and civil initiatives in the fields of culture, art, economy, and politics should work together. Rather than planning processes operating from the top down, it is pointed out that there is a need for a bottom-up planning process, one that should meet local knowledge and demands; for this reason, the importance of participatory planning is emphasized.

İngin defines her main role as making the “invisible” dynamics in the city visible, and understanding and rendering visible the spatial, social, and economic structures by working directly with local communities. She advocates strengthening local visions through participatory meetings, small-scale interventions, and civil initiatives. However, she states that existing administrative structures, hierarchical relationships, and non-transparent decision-making mechanisms constitute significant obstacles to participation.

The interview concludes that a good planning model for Istanbul should consist not only of plans, but also of forms of governance, inter-institutional relations, and transparent mechanisms that make participation possible, and argues that urban decisions should be shaped through participatory action, feedback, and collective production.

This book chapter examines the urban renewal policies put into practice in Istanbul from the mid-2000s onward through the example of the Sulukule Renewal Project. The study discusses how the new planning and expropriation powers granted to local governments by Law No. 5366 shaped transformation processes in historic neighborhoods. In Sulukule, the renewal process was legitimized through defining the neighborhood’s informal social, cultural, and spatial structure as problematic. However, the article reveals that Sulukule had strong social solidarity networks, unique housing typologies, and an urban fabric carrying the quality of cultural heritage. It is emphasized that, instead of an on-site and participatory planning approach, the renewal project turned into a market-oriented, large-scale intervention; and that in this process, especially tenants and low-income residents were displaced. Through the example of Sulukule, the study critically evaluates the effects of urban renewal practices in Turkey in the context of social justice, cultural heritage, and displacement.

From the editor’s foreword:

“Istanbul is a metropolis inhabited by millions of people. Construction activity never ends, so much so that the skyline has become invisible. Its boundaries are also gradually expanding, so much so that it has long ceased to be merely a city; it now defines a region. Its thousands of years of historical accumulation is constantly being brought to life / losing life through singular restoration, re-functioning, demolition-and-rebuilding projects, as well as numerous urban interventions at various scales, acquiring new faces. Looking at Istanbul only in this way, it should be possible to speak of the existence of a very strong potential in terms of architectural production… The number of universities with faculties of architecture in Istanbul is 10. Most architectural publications (periodical/non-periodical) are also printed in Istanbul. So what does it mean to exist in this architectural environment, whether through intellectual or physical production/participation, or simply as a witness? If three architects under the age of 45, living in Istanbul and practicing architecture through different approaches and paths, begin to speak about this metropolis and its architecture on the basis of their individual experiences, what would come out? How subjective or how objective would what comes out be? How would it relate to the discourses voiced in Istanbul? ‘istanbul paradoksa’ pursues neither the description of a complete architectural environment nor the development of new discourses. ‘istanbul para-doksa’ is the product of a discussion distant from these concerns, and its most meaningful aspect is that, with this identity, it presents a section from the present day.”

This study aims to draw attention to the examination and development of local examples by addressing the increasing efforts in recent years in Turkey to establish the unity of “Design–Production” at a different scale. The Şişhane District, which constitutes the study area and is the center of the lighting market, has a lively market and network structure with a wide variety of user groups such as workshops, shops, wholesalers, professional and domestic customers, etc. This center, which offers significant production and shopping opportunities, has the potential to develop design-production relations at different scales for the future, in addition to the accumulations from its past, including lighting. With this potential, a sustainable urban development can be achieved in the district that can both provide an alternative to tourism-oriented uniform formations and that does not exclude the district’s producers and established network structure, but benefits from it. The paper was supported by interviews conducted to examine the design-production relationship in the district, and was developed through the evaluation of the district’s history, its present and future position, and the potentials it holds in terms of production, design, and the city.

Today, cities are defined as structures with a holistic system. In developing this model, this structural assumption was adopted, and existing studies in this field were evaluated in line with the thesis' objective. To support theoretical knowledge with fieldwork, the Ayvalık urban site was chosen as the application area. The model includes two dimensions: sequential and simultaneous. In the simultaneous analysis, the city's own elements and relationships are analyzed. This analysis is achieved through the concepts of space and form. This study aims at the formal and spatial analysis of the urban structure. The study attempts to analyze the city's internal structure and elements without relying on other disciplines. Consequently, the model is applied in a way that is open to influences and additions from the city of Ayvalık.