City and Architecture (Non-Thesis) Ozyegin University

Overview

The research and design oriented integrated program inquires the subject of all kinds of urban practices that are engendered and produced by cities in general, and the city of Istanbul in particular.

While focusing on architectural issues in the urban context, the program aims to transfer new approaches to the fields of research and practice through the use of critical, experimental, participatory, creative and unique methods. Based on the view that design is an analytical and creative way of thinking, the program aims to present a wide variety of research including approaches from different disciplines and practices. The program offers the students the opportunity to evaluate social, cultural, ecological, and technological problems within the framework of different contexts, while encouraging them to deal with complex urban and architectural issues.

The City and Architecture Integrated Master's Program has been structured through a holistic understanding of the theory-practice unity of the architectural profession. This understanding can be seen both in the partnerships of the two programs, allowing an integrative approach between courses, workshops, seminars, publications, exhibitions through the unique structures of the programs.

Program Learning Outcomes

• The City and Architecture (Non-Thesis) Master's program from Ozyegin University aims to create critical rethinking and evaluation approaches about the relationship between architecture and design in an urban context, design and production processes, and architectural representation media, and about the relationship between the field of architecture and the world. It is important to reveal the language of design and architecture within the urban context and to determine the main discourse on the intersection of city and architecture. This is seen as essential in order to search for the current and possible circumstances of cities and Istanbul, and to propose new approaches for the transformation of the city regarding the content and its particular urban production.

• With the development of sufficient levels of knowledge, it is expected from the students not only to look at design problems as research topics with the aim of producing new knowledge, but also to develop advanced theoretical and applied knowledge and skills by understanding the potentials of interdisciplinary interaction. In this context, it is of great importance that students can evaluate their own knowledge and skills with a critical point of view. The program allows students to absorb and reflect on the current developments in the field of city and architecture in their designs, and supports them to gain a high level of communication skills through different forms of representations on the production of their design research.

• The backbone of the Non-Thesis Master's Program is "Research-Based Advanced Design Laboratories'', where "Advanced Design Studio'' and "Space" courses are conducted in parallel. Laboratories that take place consecutively in the program have been planned in a way that all components support each other within the framework of the pre-determined theme for the semester. Each semester, the city is addressed in different scales and contexts with its own dynamics, and this structure is supported by elective courses. Within the scope of the LABs, the following are offered as a package: a) the Seminar Series, which include the experiences of the practitioner-expert with the Studios, b) the Space course where the main structure related to the studio theme is given as an integrated package, and c) the elective courses supporting the topic. In addition to these, various workshops are conducted within the scope of the studio.