Publications

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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.

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.

The book chapter is an interview conducted by Demet Mutman with Aslı Kıyak İngin, addressing İngin's approach advocating for sustainable and participatory planning models in the city. It emphasizes the need for culture, art, economy, politics, and civil initiatives to work together in the reconstruction of the city. It notes that top-down planning processes often fail to adequately address bottom-up local knowledge and demands, thus rendering participatory planning ineffective.

İngin defines her fundamental role as making visible the "invisible" dynamics of the city, understanding spatial, social, and economic infrastructures through direct work with local communities, and communicating these processes to institutions. She advocates for 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 pose significant obstacles to participation.

The interview concludes that a good planning model for Istanbul requires more than just plans; It concludes that governance should consist of forms of governance, inter-institutional relations, and transparent mechanisms that enable participation, and argues that urban decisions should be shaped through participatory action, feedback, and co-production.

This chapter examines urban renewal policies implemented in Istanbul from the mid-2000s onwards, using the Sulukule Renewal Project as an example. The study discusses how the new planning and expropriation powers granted to local governments by Law No. 5366 shaped the transformation processes in historical neighborhoods. The renewal process in Sulukule was justified by defining the neighborhood's informal social, cultural, and spatial structure as problematic. However, the article reveals that Sulukule possesses strong social solidarity networks, unique housing typologies, and an urban fabric with cultural heritage value. It emphasizes that the renewal project transformed from a participatory, on-site transformation into a large-scale, market-oriented intervention; and that this process particularly displaced tenants and low-income residents. Through the Sulukule example, the study critically evaluates the impacts of urban renewal practices in Turkey on social justice, cultural heritage, and displacement.

Editörün önsözünden:
“Milyonlarca insanın yaşadığı bir metropol İstanbul. İnşai faaliyetler hiç bitmiyor, öyle ki ufuk çizgisi görünmez oldu. Sınırları da gitgide büyüyor, öyle ki bir kent olmaktan çoktan çıktı, o bir bölgeyi tanımlıyor artık. Binlerce yıllık tarihi birikimi, tekil restorasyon, yeniden işlevlendirme, yıkıp yeniden yapma projelerinin yanı sıra çeşitli ölçeklerde ve çok sayıda kentsel müdahalelerle sürekli can buluyor/veriyor, yeni yüzler ediniyor. İstanbul’a sadece böyle bakarak mimari üretim adına çok güçlü bir potansiyelin varlığından söz etmek mümkün olmalı… İstanbul’da mimarlık fakültesi olan üniversite sayısı 10. Mimari yayınların çoğu (süreli/süresiz) yine İstanbul’da basılıyor. Acaba bu mimarlık ortamında gerek düşünsel gerek fiziksel üretimle/katılımla ya da sadece tanık olarak var olmak ne demek? İstanbul’da yaşayan ve mimarlık pratiğini birbirinden farklı yaklaşımlarla, yollarla gerçekleştiren 45 yaş altı üç mimar bireysel deneyimlerinden hareketle bu metropol ve mimarlığı üzerine konuşmaya başlarsa ortaya neler dökülür? Ortaya dökülenler ne kadar öznel ya da ne kadar nesnel olur? İstanbul’da dillenen söylemlerle nasıl ilişkilenir? “istanbul paradoksa” ne eksiksiz bir mimarlık ortamı tariflemenin ne de yeni söylemler geliştirmenin peşinde. “istanbul para-doksa” bu kaygılardan uzak bir tartışmanın ürünü, en anlamlı tarafı da bu kimlikle günümüzden bir kesit sunuyor olması.

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.