2015
Istanbul
Ruşen AKTAŞ
Ruşen Aktaş is an independent curator and writer based in London and Istanbul. She completed her studies in Turkey –film & media studies- and the UK – visual cultures & art history. Alongside contemporary arts her interests also include architecture, design and urban history. Ruşen has more of a comprehensive attitude towards artistic production and her approach is multi disciplined. She works with artists from diverse backgrounds producing multimedia, film, installations, photography, and painting. Ruşen has worked on major projects as curator, editor, project manager and art space director. In 2008 she founded the art centre of Istanbul European Capital of Culture Agency. She also managed the international arts program of 2010 Istanbul European Capital of Culture year. In 2011 she was commissioned to curate a large scale European Union project to be implemented in Istanbul and Marseille; Ex:change Istanbul-Marseille: Industrial Architectural Heritage, Developing Awareness and Visibility. Between 2012-2013 Ruşen co produced and presented a weekly radio program on contemporary arts for Acık Radyo in Istanbul. As the co founder of Artshift, she has produced exhibitions and events since 2012. She is currently working on a book exploring the relationship between artistic production and activism.
Anna HERINGER
In 1997/98 Anna lived in Bangladesh as development learner at the NGO Dipshikha. In 2005, together with Eike Roswag and local craftsmen she realized a School in Rudrapur, Bangladesh, that she has designed in 2004 as diploma project at the Linz University of Arts. The school made out of local materials won several awards including the Aga Khan Award of Architecture. Over the years Anna has realized further award winning projects in Asia and Africa. She is lecturing worldwide and was visiting professor in universities at Stuttgart, Linz and Vienna. 2011 she was a Loeb Fellow at Harvard`s GSD, where she extended the GSD`s Gund Hall into a „Mud Hall“ together with Martin Rauch, students and faculty. Her work was widely published and exhibited like in the MoMA NY, London`s V&A Museum and at the Venice Biennale. She received the AR Emerging Architecture Awards (2006 and 2008), the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture (2011) and the RIBA International Fellowship. Since 2010 she has been honorary professor of the UNESCO Chair “earthen architecture, construction cultures and sustainable development”. She currently teaches a design studio together with Martin Rauch at ETH Zürich as well as running her down office.
Elias MESSINAS
Int’l. Assoc.AIA
Architect & Environmental Consultant
Founding Chairman of ECOWEEK
Elias Messinas is a graduate of the Yale School of Architecture, Environmental Design Dept. of Bezalel Academy, and holds a doctorate from the National Technical University of Athens. He also attended an M.Sc. on Environment and Development at NTUA. He has conducted research in the desert on passive-solar retrofits in existing housing buildings. He teaches sustainable design at the Holon Institute of Technology and is the author of numerous articles, two books and several catalogues. Together with architect Dan Price, the co-editor and co-author of the first upcoming ECOWEEK publication (in progress - Axel Menges Publisher, Germany). He has written and published extensively, lectured widely and has exhibited his work, research and travel sketchbooks in several occasions. Elias is the founding chairman and coordinator of international NGO ECOWEEK, which he established in 2005 in Greece with the mission to raise environmental awareness and to promote sustainability.
Marco NAVARRA
Marco Navarra is professor in urban and architectural design at the university of Catania, he founded Nowa Office and he is also the autor of Robert Adam, Ruins of the Palace of the Emperor Diocletian at Spalatro in Dalmatia,1754. (2002), Repairingcities. La riparazione come strategia di sopravvivenza. (2008), Lo-fi: Architecture as curatorial practice,with mario Lupano and Luca Emanueli (2010), Abiura dal paesaggio. Architettura come trasposizione (2012), DISPLAY. Didattica per un’architettura di relazione (2012). He has curated many exhibitions and projects, architectural installations and research projects at the Venice Biennale, at the Milan triennale, at the Mies van der Rohe Foundation, at CCCB in Barcelona and CCA in Montreal.
Nowa Office's Projects have been published in many italian and foreign magazines.
He was finalist of the Mies van der Rohe Prize (2003), the EUROPEAN PRIZE FOR URBAN PUBLIC SPACE (2006)in Barcelona and the BBS Swiss Architectural Award (2008).
He won the Medaglia d’oro, the first prize for Italian architecture at the Milan triennale (2003) and the Gubbio prize.
Elisabetta TERRAGNI
Elisabetta Terragni (Como and New York) has crafted a number of exhibition sites from abandoned infrastructures. Several exhibition installations in historic structures or in industrial venues have stimulated experimentation and helped form a team of collaborators.
The focus of the team’s work is on projects that involve the repurposing of abandoned pieces of industrial infrastructure and on innovative public uses of degraded and neglected sites.Based in Italy and the USA, We work with collaborators from partner museums and foundations worldwide, and with creative technologists from the fields of interaction, sound, lighting and stage design.Our research and development process involves multiple domains of expertise that come together to address pressing needs. The team’s international character and experience in devising innovative solutions to unconventional problems place it at the forefront of contemporary work in emerging domains of transdisciplinary design practice.
TEGET Mimarlık
Mehmet KÜTÜKÇÜOĞLU
Born in Zurich (1967). Graduate of METU Department of Architecture (1989). Master degree from SCI-ARC in Los Angeles (1993). Lectured in SCI-ARC, Middle East Technical University, Yildiz Technical University and Istanbul Technical University. Member of the Board of Directors in Bilgi University Master Degree Programme in Architecture. Have articles about city and architecture in various sectoral publications. Continuing his professional work as a partner of Teget Architecture.
Ertuğ UÇAR
Born in Antalya (1971). Graduate of METU Department of Architecture (1993). Master degree: METU Department of Architecture (1999). He contributed to the educational processes either as a lecturer, tutor or as a jury member. Lectured in Yildiz Technical University (2005-06); in Istanbul Technical University (2006-14). Have articles about city and architecture in various sectoral publications. Also a writer of three story books. Continuing his professional work as a partner of Teget Architecture.
Han TÜMERTEKİN
Han Tümertekin is a practicing architect based in Istanbul. His work include projects primarily in Turkey, as well as in Netherlands, Japan, United Kingdom, France, China, Mongolia and Kenya.
Mr. Tümertekin was trained in architecture at Istanbul Technical University and graduated from the University of Istanbul. In addition to his built work, he has been teaching architecture since 1992 at several universities, such as; Harvard University Graduate School of Design; Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Ecole Spéciale d'Architecture, Paris. He is among the founders of the graduate programme in architecture at Bilgi University, Istanbul, where he still teaches.
Mr. Tümertekin’s work have been widely published in international architectural journals and a monograph of his work was published by Harvard University Press in 2006.
Recipient of several prizes of architecture, Tümertekin was presented a 2004 Aga Khan Award for Architecture for the B2 House. He served on the Aga Khan 2007 Master Jury and he is a member of the awards steering committee.