{"id":12655,"date":"2024-08-16T16:40:05","date_gmt":"2024-08-16T13:40:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aura-istanbul.com\/?page_id=12655"},"modified":"2026-03-03T16:19:51","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T13:19:51","slug":"application","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/aura-istanbul.com\/index.php\/application\/","title":{"rendered":"Application"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1496063964864{margin-bottom: 20px !important;}”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

APPLICATION<\/h3>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text css=””]Admission is open to all bachelor’s degree holders, aiming academic or professional career and interested in furthering their education through a program of individual study in architecture and urban design.<\/p>\n

Required application materials are:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1- Statement of Interest \u00a0(A personal statement explaining goals and objectives for the program,description of the intended field of study, research or design project based on Istanbul and its relation with the main theme of the studio)
\n2- Current resume (CV) and creative portfolio
\n3- English Language Proficiency Test Result<\/p>\n

Participants will be able to join the program without paying any contribution fee.<\/p>\n

Given the individualized nature of the Academy\u2019s program, there are a limited number of spots available each semester, so we suggest early applications.<\/p>\n

The language of the program is Turkish and English. Besides the studio, seminars, conferences and events are mostly held in Turkish. The applicants are expected to have sufficient knowledge in English to be able to read, discuss, research and present their studies. All applicants whose native language is not Turkish or English must submit YDS (min 65), TOEFL IBT (min 70) or IELTS\u00a0 (min 6.0) score for admissions.<\/p>\n

The program is offered\u00a0free of charge to all participants<\/b>. However, participants traveling from outside Istanbul are responsible for their own accommodation and transportation.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”24px”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text css=””]2026 \/ Spring Semester<\/strong>
\nApplication Deadline: 2 March 2026, Monday (23.59, GMT+3)
\nInterview Date: 7 March 2026, Saturday (10.00-18.00)
\nProgram Start Date: 9 March 2026, Monday
\nProgram End Date: 28 June 2026, Sunday<\/p>\n

During the semester, seminars, lectures, and public events will be held in person at AURA Istanbul\u2019s center in Be\u015fikta\u015f. Participants will engage in a dynamic program structure that combines studio work, discussions, and thematic sessions, while continuing their academic or professional activities alongside the program.<\/p>\n

The core of the Academy\u2019s program is the Research-Based Design Studio. For the Spring 2026 semester, projects will be developed around the theme \u201cUrban Transformation in Istanbul: A Transdisciplinary Perspective\u201d<\/strong> under the guidance of studio advisors Tansel Korkmaz and Cem \u00c7elik. The studio will be supported by a series of seminars, case-study discussions featuring invited practitioners and researchers from diverse disciplines.<\/p>\n

Applicants are expected to outline a research-based design proposal within the framework of the studio theme, in their statement of intent.<\/p>\n

The application deadline is March 2, 2026 (23:59 GMT+3).<\/strong><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”48px”][vc_single_image image=”15953″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_empty_space height=”48px”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1496063964864{margin-bottom: 20px !important;}”][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

RESEARCH-BASED DESIGN STUDIO<\/h3>\n

“<\/b>Urban Transformat\u0131on \u0131n Istanbul: A Trans-d\u0131sc\u0131pl\u0131nary Perspect\u0131ve<\/b>“<\/b><\/h4>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”24px”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text css=””]The Age of Crises describes a moment of profound upheaval. On the one hand, we are becoming increasingly aware that we are driving our planet toward ecological collapse; on the other, we are witnessing the disintegration of the \u201cglobal order\u201d constructed by modernity. Even the exciting promises of artificial intelligence and robotics are accompanied by concerns about mass unemployment, pervasive surveillance, and new forms of control in everyday life. Yet this uncertain and unsettling period also holds the potential for new beginnings. To navigate these transformations, we must develop ways of thinking and acting that can engage productively with uncertainty. Like all disciplines, architecture must fundamentally reassess its methods and assumptions in response to the spirit of our time. But, how?<\/span><\/p>\n

As Wallerstein suggested, \u201cthe end of the world as we know it\u201d signals not only collapse but also the threshold of renewal. The making of a new world cannot proceed through the Faustian model of domination that shaped the past. We are now confronted with the consequences of placing humanity at the center, treating nature as an exploitable resource, and consuming it without restraint. We have come to understand that every act of damage inflicted on nature is ultimately damage to ourselves; we are not masters of nature but part of it. From this perspective, architecture must establish a radically different relationship with the earth. Rather than a practice defined by constant conquest and assertion, architecture must be reimagined as a care praxis, a mode of thinking and making that is attentive, reparative, and complementary to what already exists. In this framework, the Studio investigates the possibilities of such an approach, engaging thoughtfully with all living and non-living systems as well as with the built environment we inherit.<\/span><\/p>\n

Istanbul stands as one of the most vulnerable metropolises of this Age of Crises. It must urgently transform into a city that is ecologically, economically, and socio-culturally resilient while also confronting the pressing reality of earthquake risk.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”24px”][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text css=””]Attempting transformation at this scale and speed through conventional approaches risks producing new ecological damage and, in some cases, becoming an instrument of dispossession. The Studio therefore frames the potential transformation of the earthquake-vulnerable neighborhoods of G\u00fclsuyu and G\u00fclensu<\/strong> as a transdisciplinary research inquiry, exploring how these areas might evolve into communities that are self-sufficient while remaining dynamically connected to their wider urban context.<\/span><\/p>\n