Mekan Konuşmaları No:104

Date: November 30, 2023 /  Thursday

Time: 18:00

Place: santralistanbul Campus, KD-6 Kazandibi

Post-Disaster Reconstruction Plan

We are thrilled to announce that Ela Gök and Sam Price from Herkes İçin Mimarlık will be joining us for the 104th episode of Mekan Konuşmaları, hosted by the students of BİLGİ Graduate Programs in Architecture.

In the aftermath of the devastating February 6 earthquakes, Herkes İçin Mimarlık initiated their post-disaster reconstruction plan. The plan began with the proposal for the construction of temporary community centers in the areas designated for post-disaster emergency housing. This initiative aimed to provide community spaces to facilitate local activities and allow disaster victims to come together, aiding the normalization process. As part of this plan various projects have been completed, and others are in progress. Although using different materials and different construction techniques, each project follows Herkes İçin Mimarlık’s ethos of using collaborative/participatory design and community engagement throughout the building process.   

In the garden of Sümer Secondary School in Kahramanmaraş, a playground has been designed and installed using reclaimed materials. In the same garden, a timber construction community center was completed in June with the support of KAF Kolektif and All Hands All Hearts. The design for this project was the result of an open-call workshop and forum that took place in Istanbul. Using the same core design, a second community center has been built by All Hands All Hearts in Kılılı, Kahramanmaraş. With the support of students from İstinye University, a social seating area has also been constructed outside the temporary offices of the Kahramanmaraş Chamber of Architects.   

In the Türkoğlu neighborhood of Kahramanmaraş, within 23 Nisan Park, a further community center constructed using the superadobe technique is nearing completion. In May, together with ALİKEV, Türkiye Mozaik Foundation and Mor ve Ötesi, Herkes İçin Mimarlik began the design work of a new center for ALİKEV in Antakya, which will include music studios to be used by local young people.   

HiM (Architecture For All Association), (2011, İstanbul); is a platform where student volunteers and professionals can come together and bring social problems encountered in the country and the world in a creative way to the agenda, raise awareness about these problems and act to produce solutions from the fields of architecture and design. In urban and rural areas, it wants to contribute to the formation of an architecture field, which works for and with society, by encouraging participatory mechanisms that are lacking in the design, planning and construction processes of projects.  

Ela Gök and Sam Price have both been part of Herkes İçin Mimarlık for the past two years and are directly involved in the organization's ‘Post-Disaster Reconstruction Plan’ through various projects. Sam is currently completing his master's degree in architectural design at Istanbul Technical University. His thesis is centered around craft and repair, with the ‘Sümer Space’ community center as his case study. Ela recently received her master’s degree having completed the Architecture and Urban Studies course at Kadir Has University. She has recently joined BİLGİ Department of Interior Design as a part-time tutor.  

The talk will be conducted in English and is open to everyone.