This past summer, students of the Department of Architecture went on a two-week study abroad program in Italy. Between June 3 and June 16, 20 students traveled to five cities to visit important architectural works. The program was organized by the department, and they were accompanied by two instructors: Giorgio Gasco and Ahmad Kamal Ali.
After stops in Rome and Florence, the group stayed in Venice for four days in order to see the 14th Architecture Biennial. A component of the city’s famed Biennale celebration of the arts, this event aims to bring together developments and trends in architecture. It takes place at two major venues in Venice: the Giardini and the Arsenale. This year, the venues hosted exhibitions from a total of 65 countries.
This was a good year for the Bilkent students to attend, as it was the first time that the Architecture Biennial featured a Turkish pavilion. This was located in the Arsenale and had been designed by Murat Tabanlıoğlu. It mainly focused on the transformation of the İstanbul AKM, which held personal meaning for him since the building had been designed by his father, Hayati Tabanlıoğlu.
The students returned with new knowledge and many sketches. They are already looking forward to the 15th Biennial in 2016, hopefully in time for their graduation as the first class of the Department of Architecture.