Contemporary İstanbul Section

İTÜ Architecture Students Design Contemporary İstanbul Facade from Recycled Paper Contemporary İstanbul and Tabanlıoğlu Architecture jointly commissioned architecture students to design the Contemporary İstanbul facade. Among first-year students at Istanbul Technical University (İTÜ) Faculty of Architecture, the winning design "Curvegami" out of 27 entries is planned to be displayed on the facade of Lütfi Kırdar International Congress and Exhibition Palace during the fair held under Akbank's main sponsorship between 20-23 September 2018. Like last year, Contemporary İstanbul is conducting the general visual planning of the fair this year together with Tabanlıoğlu Architecture. However, unlike previous years, Contemporary İstanbul and Tabanlıoğlu Architecture this year collaborated with Istanbul Technical University (İTÜ) Faculty of Architecture and organized a competition for aspiring architects. First-year students from the Architecture, Interior Architecture, Industrial Products and Landscape Departments of İTÜ Faculty of Architecture participated in the competition under the supervision of Çiğdem Eren (İTÜ), Demet Günal Ertaş (İTÜ), Elif Sezen Yağmur Kilimci (İTÜ) and Figen Gül (İTÜ). The jury of the competition included Contemporary İstanbul Board Chairman Ali Güreli, Murat Tabanlıoğlu (Tabanlıoğlu Architecture), Arzu Erdem (KHÜ), Kerem Piker (KPM), Hande Öney (Öney Architecture), Dila Kabakçı (Art Factory), and Sabiha Kurtulmuş (Merkür Gallery). The jury, which evaluated 27 different projects produced by 90 participating students, selected the design titled "Curvegami" prepared by Mehtap Çaldıran and Hasan Basri Saltık. "Curvegami" moved to the implementation phase with Tabanlıoğlu Architecture with the support of Duran Doğan Printing and Packaging Industry Inc. The winning design is planned to be displayed on the facade of Lütfi Kırdar International Congress and Exhibition Palace, while models of the other 26 projects will be exhibited at the fair. Other students who participated in the design competition are also supporting the production of the winning design Curvegami.

"Our Goal is to Support Istanbul's Art and Culture Infrastructure"

Contemporary Istanbul Board Chairman Ali Güreli, stating that they were delighted to collaborate with İTÜ Faculty of Architecture, which has a long-established history, said: "One of our fundamental objectives is to contribute to the development of Istanbul's art and culture infrastructure. We believe that the city's art and culture infrastructure should be encouraged to the fullest extent and prioritized by both private institutions and the state. For this reason, this year we took an important step and organized this competition involving young aspiring architects together with İTÜ Faculty of Architecture and Tabanlıoğlu Architecture. Our goal is to provide young people with the support they need so that they can develop and advance in the contemporary art world. Every project that participated in the competition was of exhibition quality. I congratulate all the students individually. I believe the fair, which brings together important galleries and artists from many countries around the world and journalists from international media organizations, will be a great opportunity for the students' futures. We will implement the design as it appeared in the competition."