GEMSS 2019 Exhibition of Young Architects Selection Opens Its Doors

Turkey's Young Architects Selection exhibition, where creative young architects of Turkey are evaluated not only by their projects but also by their holistic creative approaches, opened at GEMSS 2019 The Circle. The exhibition, which reflects the work of 14 architects included in the selection through creative elements such as objects, models, videos and sketches alongside drawings, will remain open to visits until 12 October. The Young Architects Selection and Exhibition, featuring 14 architects under 40 years of age who can shape the future of architecture in Turkey, opened at The Circle on 6 September. Curated by Sait Ali Köknar and realized with the support of VitrA, Şişecam, Trimline, Ersa, Petra and Arkitera, the GEMSS selection was determined by a multidisciplinary jury consisting of architects, artists, academics and industry representatives. The GEMSS 2019 exhibition brings together architects representing different practices within the field of architecture—including building design and production, temporary space design, product design, research, publishing and education—and those contributing in practical, academic and artistic ways to architecture culture in Turkey. The exhibition presents a comprehensive view of contemporary architecture.

GEMSS 2019, with exhibition design undertaken by Dilara Tekin Gezginti and Sanja Jurca Avcı, continues with similar intent the principle of the selection—"taking into account the intellectual identity of architects and their ways of practicing architecture."

Dilara Tekin Gezginti, emphasizing that the exhibition design aims to convey to visitors the ways selected architects think and produce, their means of expression and methods, notes that this goal is sometimes met by allocating equal and identical format space to each architect, and sometimes by using varied representation tools with complete freedom: "The drawings used by architects in their selection applications, presenting 1 or 2 projects, demonstrated a transparent approach in sharing the representation product involved in the selection process with visitors. The complementary elements positioned immediately next to the drawings provided a means for the architect to express themselves freely regarding any situation or project they found important; they produced representation products at different levels varying between 2 and 3 dimensions." Portfolios and sketch surfaces, another component of the exhibition, were used as useful tools for incorporating the architect's personal and professional archive into the exhibition process. Three-dimensional objects included in the exhibition to provide architects with greater freedom could be either a model or 3D print, or any object containing the semantic equivalent the architect wished to bring to the exhibition. To represent similar flexibility and variety in the media area, the exhibition also features one-minute videos produced by architects to narrate their own practice. The "portfolio, sketch, object and video" representations of the 14 selected architects' profiles are presented together, with the aim of visitors experiencing and reflecting on this combination. This togetherness is presented as a map corresponding to what Curator Sait Ali Köknar terms "currently possible ways of practicing architecture" in the exhibition.

The architects included in the GEMSS 2019 selection are listed (in alphabetical order) as follows:

• Alper Derinboğaz (Salon Architects) • Bihter Çelik (-trak) • Birge Yıldırım Okta (Oktaa) • Burak Pekoğlu (BINAA) • Buşra Al (Plug Ofis) • Cihan Sevindik (OfficePan) • Evren Başbuğ (StudioEvrenBaşbug) • Ferhat Hacıalibeyoğlu (İkiartıbir Mimarlık) • Ilgın Avcı (CAA Studio) • Melike Altınışık (Melike Altınışık Architects) • Oral Göktaş (SO?) • Ramazan Avcı (SCRA Mimarlık) • Sevince Bayrak (SO?) • Zuhal Kol (Openact)     Following its presentation at The Circle, the GEMSS exhibition will be shown at RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) as part of the London Architecture Festival from 1-30 June 2020, along with the winner of the Arkitera Young Architect Award. Exhibition Dates: 6 September – 12 October 2019 Visiting Hours: 10:00-18:00 Visiting Days: Daily except Sunday