Mimed Forum IV: Flexibility in Architectural Education

This book is the outcome of one of the Forum Series on Architectural Education, organized by the Architectural Education Association of Turkey (MIMED) on the theme of Flexibility in Architecture. At Forum IV, the architectural education platform was cross-examined, new ideas and experiences were shared, and the potentials of regeneration were discovered. The notion of flexibility in architectural education is the subject of fresh and vital debate which is based on whether it is achieved by the inner dynamics of architecture, or the external dynamics. However, this debate seems null and void since the dynamics of both sides seem to necessitate flexibility in architectural education at almost the same level. Hence the attitude that the prerequisite for creating flexibility according to the inner dynamics of architecture depends on the protection of architectural education from the coercive effects of external dynamics is no longer a relevant issue. Furthermore, architectural education as a role model in such a debate becomes more important, not only in a monotyping global context, but also in the local social context as well. Herein lies a fundamental dichotomy arising from the fact that because of globalization curricula may face the risk of becoming uniform. Any effort to overcome this dichotomy in such a debate seems vital. Then, the question arises whether such a dichotomy, which turns architectural education from an autonomous discipline into a quasi-autonomous one, transforms architectural education into a rather political issue. If the autonomous nature of architectural education resists globalization, the question of the manner in which this resistance occurs and what impact it will have on architectural education seems of the utmost importance. The volume begins with a preface by Gulsun Saglamer, President of MIMED. Contributors include Juhani Pallasmaa, Kim Dovey, Kojin Karatani, Herman Neuckermans, Conall O'Cathain, Mark Olweny, Ugur Tanyeli, Ferhan Yurekli, Gulsun Saglamer, Fatma Erkok, Rengin Unver, Cigdem Polatoglu, S. Mujdem Vural, Iris Aravot, Acalya Allmer, Sigrun Prahl, Aslihan Senel, Sevgi Turkkan, Burcin Kurtuncu, Sait Ali Koknar, Ozlem Berber, Funda Uz Sonmez, Akin Sevinc, Danelle Briscoe, Kurt Gouwy, Aydan Balamir, Mine Ozkar, Basak Ucar, Semra Arslan Selcuk, Arzu Gonenc Sorguc, Sema Alacam, Esra Gurbuz, Urs Hirschberg, and Ahu Sokmenoglu.
About the Author: Beyhan Bolak Hisarligil is an architect and teaches architectural theory and design at Meliksah University in Turkey. She completed her undergraduate work at Erciyes University and received an MA in Architectural Design from Middle East Technical University (METU). She received her PhD in Architecture from Istanbul Technical University with a thesis titled A Poetic Thinking of Dwelling: The In-between in Vernacular Anatolian Settlements. She designs research centres in Turkey and she is the author of Narrative Space in 'The Black Book' by Orhan Pamuk. She is currently the Head of the Department of Architecture at Meliksah University. Sevgi Lokce received her BA in Architecture from Ankara State Academy, and an MA in Architecture and a PhD from the Gazi University Institute of Science. She has taught at various schools of architecture in Turkey, including Gazi University, Erciyes University, and Eastern Mediterranean University in Northern Cyprus. Her research activities are in architectural education, architectural design, history and criticism. She was a Dean at Erciyes University's Faculty of Architecture from 2004 to 2010. She is currently a Professor and Head of the Department of Architecture at Atilim University in Ankara, and she is also a founder member of MIMED. Oktay Turan studied architecture at Gazi University's Faculty of Architecture in 2004, and received his master's degree in Architecture in 2008 from METU. He is currently a PhD candidate at METU.