2025 Review: Between the Poetics of Space and Digital Ontology
- Sule Erkaya
- 22 Ara 2025
- 2 dakikada okunur
For me, 2025 has been a threshold where the dialogue I have established between digital narratives, academic transmissions, and urban interventions deepened, transcending the physical boundaries of the landscape. Moving my design practice beyond mere "space production" has been a profoundly rewarding experience.
Yeditepe University: ‘Drawing Techniques’ Undergraduate Course
Throughout the past year, the "Drawing Techniques" course I conducted at Yeditepe University became a laboratory where we rediscovered the ancient bond between hand and mind, going beyond technical instruction. Together with the students, we explored how the "line"—the purest form of design—constructs landscape morphology and how analog techniques can serve as a point of resistance in the digital age. For us, drawing was not just a tool of representation but a way of understanding and reconfiguring space.
Historical Layers and Palimpsest: Doctoral Studies My doctoral research on historical landscapes at Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa sought to anchor its theoretical framework on deeper ground in 2025. By treating the city’s historical fabric as a "palimpsest," I investigated the traces left by time upon the landscape. Reading landscapes not merely as static physical spaces to be preserved, but as living texts where the meanings of the past and present intertwine, has radically shifted the dimension of "time" in my design philosophy.
Urban Heritage and Conservation Processes
Participating in the design and Regional Conservation Board approval processes for areas at the intersection of historical environments and public spaces provided tangible field examples of the "historical landscapes" and "urban continuity" themes emphasized in my doctoral thesis. While revitalizing public life within the city's historical core, the balance between the technical precision of the Board processes and the language of design allowed my theoretical approaches to find their reflection in the field.
Competition: Bursa Setbaşı-Yeşil-Emirsultan Axis
One of the most exciting professional milestones of the year, the Bursa Setbaşı-Yeşil-Emirsultan Historical Axis Urban Design Competition, served as a practical reflection of the concept of "stratification." This creative process in Bursa was built upon a long-standing "competition culture." Having previously served as a rapporteur for critical competitions such as "Istanbul is Yours," "Haliç Coasts," "Artworks in Green Spaces," and the "Pandemic and Healthcare Workers Memorial," producing ideas this time as a participant/designer for Bursa’s ancient axis was a source of immense professional excitement.
Digitalizing Landscape Narrative: AI, Representation, and Ethics
In the departments of Yeditepe University, Trakya University, and Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, we debated professional ethics against the backdrop of rapid digital transformation. Within the scope of "Digitalizing Landscape Narrative," we reconsidered the intellectual responsibility of the designer in the vast visual universe offered by artificial intelligence, while striving to preserve the Genius Loci (the spirit of the place). Furthermore, I participated in various symposia in collaboration with professional organizations and municipal unions.
Collective Ecosystem
Through the "Living Book - The Spatial J/U/S/T" project, we transformed ecological awareness into a sense of sensory well-being.
In conclusion, 2025 has once again proven that landscape is not just a visible physical space, but a multi-layered "life narrative" woven with ethics, technology, education, and memory.
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