Thanks Assoc. Prof. Gul Koksal for her reference to my article in her most recent published article...

I am so glad to be connected with my “women” colleagues from my beloved country through exchanging architectural knowledge (in between the US and Turkish architecture) in particular, during this new normal time period: I have just read the most recent published article by Assoc. Prof. by Gul Koksal, one of my brilliant women colleagues on COVID-19 and architecture (1), and am thankful to her for her taking into consideration some of my comments and views on how “a professional organization” in architecture (such as AIA) can/should support (professional) architects during this unprecedented time period. (2). 

Without comparing professional culture, its social and practice-based dynamics in two countries, cross-cultural knowledge exchange can be very helpful and stimulating to raise some critical “awareness” of the existing operation by some organizations and institutions in architecture profession, in particular, during this time period. 

Here are statements by Assoc. Prof. Gul Koksal in her most recent published article by “Mimarlik” (Architecture) (3):“…

Diğer bir örnek olarak ABD’ye bakalım. ABD’nin COVID-19 ile hükümet düzeyinde nasıl “baş ettiğini” okuyoruz: Dr. Meral Ekincioğlu Amerikan Mimarlar Enstitüsü’nün (AIA) mimarlara nasıl bir destek sunduğu, ne yollarla bir iş birliği geliştirdiği, kısacası meslektaşları ile nasıl dayanıştığını anlatıyor. (23) AIA’nın Türkiye’nin neredeyse iki katı, yüz bine yakın üyesi var. (24) Öte yandan meslek odamızın web sayfasında bazı açıklamalar dışında üye tabanına dair bu tür çalışmalar göremiyoruz. (25)Bu günler söz konusu mesleki dayanışmayı geliştirmek için somut adım atacak iyi bir fırsat değil mi?...”, Assoc. Prof. Gul Koksal, http://www.mimarlikdergisi.com/index.cfm?sayfa=mimarlik&DergiSayi=427&RecID=5029, last accessed on 6.2.2020. 

(“…Let's look at the US as another example. We have been reading how the US "coped" with COVID-19 at the government level: Dr. Meral Ekincioğlu has been elaborating how the American Institute of Architects (AIA) delivers its support to architects, and has developed a collaboration, shortly, how they have built a solidarity with its colleagues. The number of its members is almost 100.000, almost twice Turkey’s. On the other hand, we are not able to see such studies/efforts by the Chamber of Architects of Turkey to support its architect members, except of a few statements on their official web page. Isn’t those days a good opportunity to take solid steps to develop our professional solidarity?...”). 

In this critical time period, women architects’ collaboration, collective and action-oriented steps, exchange knowledge and collective/collaborative production might have a profound impact to transform oppressive masculine power mechanisms and dynamics in architecture profession, academia and education….

I am also grateful for professors in architecture, architecture historians and design practitioners in architecture who kindly helped me during my Ph.D. dissertation research at Columbia, GSAPP, Ph.D. Program and in the US: While writing an article on “architecture profession and design practitioners in architecture” on critical topics, lots of pages from books by Dana Cuff, Robert Gutmans, Judith Blau, Magali Sarfatti Larson, Reinhold Martin, etc. begin to open in my mind; their theoretical, historical and critical arguments and discussions shed light on my article “how to focus on ‘essential problem’ and ‘how to examine it’”…

References and notes:

1. “Mimarlığın COVID-19 Küresel Salgınına Karşı Toplumsal Reaksiyonları Üzerinden “Devrimi Yeniden İcat Etme”* Olasılığımız; in English: “Our Possibility to “Reinvent the Revolution” Through Social Reactions of Architecture Against the COVID-19 Global Outbreak”; http://www.mimarlikdergisi.com/index.cfm?sayfa=mimarlik&DergiSayi=427&RecID=5029, last accessed on 6.2.2020.

2. In April 2020, “Mimarizm”, a leading architectural portal in Turkey kindly published my article on “AIA’s current effort to support (professional) architects with its extensive (and updated) knowledge resources, webinars, online meetings and roundtable discussions by experts and architects, handbooks, guideleness, data/surveys, etc. (My Turkish article and its references: http://www.mimarizm.com/makale/notlar-referanslar_131201; http://www.mimarizm.com/haberler/gundem/abd-den-covid-19-a-dair-bir-kesit_131199.

3.“Mimarlik” (Architecture) has been publishing by “Chamber of Architects of Turkey” since “1963” and its editorial mission has been to raise critical awareness of existing critical topics in the architecture profession, architectural (design) practice and architecture (design) education in the country, and around the global world for “more than half century”.