Speaker
Description
This study arises from an argumentation aimed at critically examining issues of disintegration and dissolution while exploring alternative models of spatial research practices that prioritize "inclusiveness" and "public engagement." In the face of contemporary challenges such as climate change, social inequality, and rapid urbanization, fostering urban resilience, sustainability, inclusivity, and aesthetics has become essential. These core values are championed by the New European Bauhaus (NEB), which emphasizes togetherness, aesthetics, and sustainability in reshaping our built environment. This triad of priorities necessitates the adoption of agile tactics for redesigning educational and research frameworks in the fields of architecture and urban design.
For the design process, Salama (1995) highlighted the participatory model, which he associated with "Community Design" or the "Action Research Approach." This model represents a significant evolution in traditional design practices, as it incorporates users and stakeholders into the decision-making process, thereby expanding the capacities and roles of designers, educators, and commissioners. The methodological framework emphasizes the integration of design ‘studio teaching’ with ‘research practices’ in architectural and urban design - process-driven and participatory approaches, in particular. How can educators, architects, and planners address challenges in the built environment by employing new agile tactics in the educational milieu? To what extent can architectural and urban design education, combined with design research, reveal innovative tactics for addressing environmental challenges within traditional built environments?
This study emphasizes a research process that integrates various tactics, combining the undergraduate design studio with insights from a European Union research project, entitled EHHUR. It encompasses the teaching methodologies associated with design activity which is framed as a form of research - adopting a paradigm of "design research" and "research by design" (Frayling, 1993). This study focuses on a third-year architectural design studio that explores the complexities of urban resilience in the traditional center of Izmir, a coastal metropolitan city in the Aegean region. The research examines how new agile tactics can integrate the core values of the New European Bauhaus (NEB) into design education, reshaping the educational process for Kemeraltı—a historic open bazaar added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List in 2020.
This journey, which combines research and design, leverages the real-world context of the project sites and architectural program, positioning the design studio as a dynamic environment where diverse actors—students, stakeholders, and professionals—collaboratively negotiate agency and shape responsive urban design solutions. The redefined role of the third-year design studio lies in its function as a participatory milieu, facilitating meaningful interactions between student groups and multiple stakeholders, e.g. everyday users, shop owners, and craftsmen. Agile tactics, characterized by iterative cycles, adaptability, locality, and stakeholder collaboration, have structured both the studio's journey and its methodological framework. By integrating participatory processes, agile tactics, and real-world challenges into the design framework, the studio has served as a microcosm of urban decision-making. The final projects proposed a Culinary Arts Hub, conceptualized as a living laboratory for sustainability, innovation, and community engagement. Key design elements included generative structures, climate-responsive strategies, and community-oriented public spaces. By incorporating NEB principles alongside participatory design, energy-efficient tools, and resilience-building strategies—reinforced by expert-led seminars—this framework presents a replicable model for advancing sustainability and fostering agency in urban environments. Architectural and urban design studios can function as critical platforms for testing and implementing strategies that integrate design excellence with urban resilience.
This research offers a broader understanding of the interconnected processes of research and design within historic built environments, both in Türkiye and on a global scale.
References
Frayling, C. (1993) Research in art and design.
Salama, A.M. (1995) New trends in architectural Education: Designing the Design Studio.
| Keywords | design research;participatory design;cultural heritage;sustainability;agile tactics;urban resilience |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | Yes |
