Introduction
The Department of Architecture and Urban Planning organized an Architectural Field
Trip for Undergraduate Students in Architecture from the 6th May to the 10th May 2012.
The destination of the trip was Istanbul in Turkey, located between the Mediterranean and the Black Seas, straddling the continents of Asia and Europe, and situated at the confines of the contemporary Islamic World.
The field trip program highlighted the encounters and overlays of multiple historic civilizations – Phoenician, Roman, Byzantine, Muslim, Ottoman as well as the hybrid classical, modernist and contemporary architectures. It was also intended to perceive the unique geographies, landscapes and urbanizations of this global city of nearly 12 million inhabitants.
Educational Aspects
The educational aspects of the field trip combined architectural visits, landscapes
and seascape excursions and lectures, guided by local architects and faculty of
the Department of Architecture of Bahcesehir University in Istanbul. At the University, students were able to interact with other students and to attend a lecture on Istanbul’s
architecture and urbanism of the modernizing period.
Through the introduction of our Head of Department, Dr. Ashraf Salama, a partnership
with Bahcesehir University was established, with the Dean Ahmet Eyuce, and the Head of the Architectural Department, Dr. Ozen Eyuce. Dr. Ozen was instrumental in making the Field Trip such a success and for providing a rich educational component through the organization of architectural visits with the project architects or lectures by faculty form the Department of Architecture at Bahcesehir University.
Prior to the field trip, a series of seminars were organized related photographing
architecture and to the concept of Orientalism and the Ottoman life and
cultures.
The outputs of the Field Trip include a photographic competition as well as a
collective report publication developed by the students on a series of selected
themes relating to the architectural program.
Istanbul Seminars
Presentation of the field trip program and distribution of the study themes on Istanbul. Dr. Anna Grichting, Assistant Professor, Qatar University, Field Trip Coordinator. March
18th 2012.
A Journey into the Life of the Ottomans. Dr. Olga Nefedova, Collection Director, Chief Curator, Orientalist Museum, Qatar Museums Authority. Lecture, film and visit of the
collection of Orientalist Art. 19th April 2012.
Photographing Architecture and the City. Dr. Emin Balcioglu, Project Director, Orientalist Museum, Qatar Museums Authority. 2nd May 2012.
Documents distributed to the students.
Adaptive reuse of industrial buildings at Bahçeşehir University (BU). Dr. Ahmet Eyuce. In “Workplaces: The Transformation of Places of Production. Industrialization and the Built Environment in the Islamic World”. Istanbul: Istanbul Bilgi University Press;Geneva: The Aga Khan Award for Architecture, 2010.
Journey to the East. Le Corbusier. Translated by Ivan Žaknić. MIT Press, 2008.
Lectures and Guided Visits in Istanbul
- Lecture on Early Modern-Modern
Turkish Architecture by Dr. İrem Maro Kırıs, Bahcesehir University. - Sabancı Cultural Center designed
by Nevzat Sayın. Presentation by architect from Nevzat Sayin office. - Saphire Tower designed by Murat Tabanlıoğlu. Presentation by
architect from Tabanlioglu architects office. - Kanyon Shopping Center designed
by Murat Tabanlioglu accompanied by Dr. Ozan Eyuce. - Lecture on Byzantine Architecture,
the Hippodrome and Hagia Sophia by Dr. Suna Cagaptay, Bahcesehir
University. - Lecture on Mimar Sinan by instructor
Ahmet Sezgin and visit of Suleymaniye Mosque and complexe and - Seascapes, Cityscapes and Leisure
Landscapes. Visit of the Prince’s Islands accompanied by Zeynep Ceylani, a
researcher of Prince’s Islands and assistant at Bahcesehir. Guided tour at the
City Museum of Buyukada by Murat Devres.
Completed Programme
6th May Bosphourous Landscapes and Architectures. Travel from Doha at 7.50 am and transfer to the Hilton Hotel. Sunset boat excursion with guide on the Bosphorous Straits to view the landscapes and architectures of the Asian and European shores of Istanbul. Dinner at famous seafood restaurant on the shores of the Bosphorous in Bebek.
7th May Modernist-Contemporary Architecture. Guided tour with the architects of the Sabancı Cultural Center Designed by Nevzat Sayın. Visit to Bahcesehir University
and lecture on Early Modern-Modern Turkish Architecture by Dr. İrem Maro Kırıs. Lunch at Behcesehir University with Dr. Ozen, Head of the Architecture Department, Dean Ahmet Eyuce, and meeting with the president of the University. Visit of Saphire Tower designed by Murat Tabanlıoğlu with the architects office. Excursion and dinner at Kanyon multipurpose complex designed by Murat Tabanlıoğlu with Ove Arup.
8th May Byzantine and Ottoman Architecture. Guided tour of Dolmahace Palace on the Bosphourous, completed in 1856 and which served as the main administrative center of the Ottoman Empire from 1856 to 1922. Visit of the Hippodrome and Hagia Sofia Cathedral Mosque with a lecture by Dr. Suna Cagaptay a faculty member of
Bahcesehir University. Lunch at Sultanahmet in a famous and traditional Meat
Ball Restaurant – Sultanahmet Koftecesi. Visit of Suleymane Mosque and complex
designed by the Imperial Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan. Lecture on Mimar Sinan
by Dr. Ahmet Sezgin faculty member of Bahcesehir University. Cultural show by
Whirling Dervishes at Dervish Dede Efendi House a museum dedicated to the
Dervish Efendi. Dinner and shopping in Istikali Street.
9th May Seascapes, Cityscapes and Leisure Landscapes. A view of the Istanbul Metropolis from the Marmara sea. Boat trip with a ferry leaving from the European shore to Buyukada, the largest of the Prince’s Islands in the sea of Marmara. Tour of the island in horse carriage to see the architectures and landscapes of leisure. Visit of the City Museum at Buyukada to learn about the history of Buyukada na the Prince’s
Islands. Lunch at local Fish restaurants and ferry trip back to the Asian side. Bus trip through Bagdad Avenue, a major commercial artery, and back to the Hotel across the suspension bridge on the Bosphorous. Dinner at the Cicek Pasaji (Flower Passage) on Istikali Street.
10th May Visit of the Grand Bazaar and the Byzantine Walls. Departure from Istanbul to Doha. Arrival at 11.40 pm
Academic Host in Istanbul: School of Architecture Bahcesehir University
The Faculty and students of Qatar University Department of Architecture and Urban Planning were hosted by Bahcesehir University School of Architecture. In particular, Dr. Ozen Eyuce, Assistant to the President, Assistant Professor of Architecture, organized a series of visits and lectures to contemporary and historical architectural sites, and we were greeted and accompanied by faculty during our entire stay. Dr. Ozen also facilitated the organizing of the bus and communication with the driver (who did not speak English).
Meetings and welcome during a lunch hosted by the University by: Dean Ahmet Eyuce, Professor and Dean of the School of Architectur and Professor ŞenayYALÇIN, President of Bahcesehir University
Lectures and accompanying faculty from Bahcesehir University School of Architecture
From Airport to Hotel Hilton: Assistant Berkay Arslan
Visit to “The Seed” : Cultural Center for Sabancı Museum by Nevzat Sayın (architect). Guide : Architect Tugba Okcuoglu from Nevzat Sayın’s office (organized by Dr. Ozan) and Nihan Özçakır Project Assistant for the Seed
Visit to “The Saphire Tower” by Murat Tabanlıoğlu (architect)
Guide : Sena Altundağ – Research and Development Manager
Dolmahace Palace, Hippodrome Area and Hagia Sofia. On-Site
Lecture at Hagia Sofia by Assistant Prof. Dr. Suna Çağaptay. Accompanied by Assistant Begüm Erçevik
Süleymaniye Mosque and Mimar Sinan. Lecture
by Instructor Ahmet Sezgin
Prince’s Islands and City Museum Buyukada
Assistant Begüm Erçevik, Assistant Zeynep Ceylanlı
Educational Outputs
Documenting the different artefacts, landscapes and experiences are an important
educational component of the Field Trip, and students are asked to submit a
final document which will include a selection of their photographs, sketches and some written reports. A photographic and video competition will select the best photographs by students. Students may also submit videos for the competition.