First of all, we congratulate you for your work being accepted into the 2209-A University Students Research Projects Support Program. Could you briefly tell us about yourself?
Hello, thank you very much. It is a great honor for me to be accepted for such an enjoyable and meaningful project. Briefly speaking, I completed my undergraduate education with honors at TOBB University of Economics and Technology, Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design in 2018. In the same year, I started the Master's program at Hacettepe University, Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design. During this process, I completed my thesis writing in 2021, focusing on the fields of architecture interior architecture history, and architectural theory. Currently, I am continuing my PhD program at Hacettepe University, Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design, and working as a Research Assistant at Istanbul Gelişim University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Interior Architecture. In addition, I have architectural illustration and photography works that I have completed to improve myself in different aspects related to my field which will be included in various group exhibitions as of 2023.
Can you talk about the process of creating your accepted project? What is its importance in your opinion? Can you explain briefly?
Certainly. The foundations of the accepted project titled "Teachings from the "Inside" of the Ruins to the Future: Interior Architecture Application Ideas through the February 6 Earthquake Archive Documents" were laid in the same project that I organized in May 2023, within the scope of the "Zero Waste Approach in Design Education Workshop" organized by Hacettepe University, Faculty of Fine Arts. He got it from the workshop named. Especially in our country, which is almost entirely an earthquake zone, focusing on a disaster that has only recently occurred has become a "professional commitment" for me. I believe that the result data of the project will also have an impact on the practical and theoretical parts of the discipline. Especially when we consider that the "earthquake" issue is mostly addressed in the fields of architecture/engineering, this project, in which we will discuss the steps that the interior discipline should take, based on the archive data of the February 6 Earthquake (photographs and video data about the place), will examine the structural earthquake resistance of a building as well as its interior. It will also give suggestions on how the user should ensure their safety.
What do you think this project added to you personally? What impact will it have on your career?
My field of study is mostly the history and theory of architecture/interior architecture. Focusing on such a current subject and conducting data analysis allows me to improve myself in different areas of the relevant discipline. However, as I mentioned in the previous question, I see this project as a commitment to a profession, that is, responsibility, as a necessary step to be taken. Considering that the earthquake-indoor relationship has not gone beyond the fixing and positioning of furniture so far, I am sure that the project outputs will lead to future research.
At what stage of the project are you currently and how does working as a group contribute to you at this stage?
We are currently in the "data analysis and reporting" phase of the study. The first stage, the collection of visual data from the February 6 Earthquake, was very challenging for us. At this stage, we received support from various agencies, news channels, search and rescue units, chambers, and personal archives. The data we were able to access revealed faulty and taken-for-granted interior practices. We grouped these faulty applications that put the life of the user in the space at risk and produced alternative solution drafts for each of them. Working as a group, especially at these stages, not only increased the archive data we collected but also provided a productive brainstorming environment for the analysis we conducted on this data. Of course, in this case, it is a great advantage to work with students who are hard-working and enjoy what they do... I would like to thank Ayşe Dilara Demircan, Bartu Emir Kaya, and Ece Yurtsever, whose academic advisors I had great pleasure in this project.
