BELONGING TO THE PLACE: ERSEN GÜRSEL ARCHITECTURE

Ersen Gürsel’s architectural practice learns from the environment, sees the meaningful, does not deny tradition and locality, and produces responses ‘as if always there’ to problems, needs, and desires without putting himself forward. Gürsel supports this attitude with a negotiative approach while obtaining land and client information, conducting environmental analysis, during the construction process, and even afterwards. Instead of adopting the role of a star architect and seeking refuge in that cocoon and persona, Gürsel embraces roles such as user, client, investor, municipality, engineer, craftsman, engaging in discussions with every actor until the end of the process, not hesitating to constantly produce, rather considering it as adding value. Beyond seeing negotiation and compromise as a way to add new experiences, he especially selects it as a knowledge he turns back to the institution or individual he faces, a comprehension he hopes to transform. Occasionally, instead of professional service, he does this as a personal or social responsibility.

Architectural historian Afife Batur defines Gürsel’s architecture as follows: “Gürsel’s designs always revolve around the concepts of ‘time and timeless’ and ‘history and space,’ wandering around the surroundings of place and time; he searches for them again, retests them, creates images, breaks them, recreates them, and establishes symbols. … This way of seeing and thinking exemplifies the difficult line of capturing spontaneity without falling into imitation while reviving the settlement patterns in the collective memory that has evolved over time.”

The book “BELONGING TO THE PLACE: ERSEN GÜRSEL ARCHITECTURE” attempts to look at Gürsel’s works in a chronological order, as if proving that history does not flow in a straight line, relentlessly pursuing what he has produced, imbuing the life of his structures into his own life, constantly returning to the ‘scene of the event.’ It includes a selection of projects he has produced over his career spanning more than 50 years in architecture and urban design. Rather than meticulously cataloging information and documents, it creates an ‘environment of understanding’ with photographs, drawings, sometimes small sketches or anecdotes that convey the spirit of the projects.

Some of the flowing texts with the circumstantial chronology of the book were produced within a panel organized on the occasion of Ersen Gürsel’s Mimar Sinan Grand Prize. Other writings and interviews of the book have been prepared not only for Gürsel’s architecture but also to encompass his different identities. The structure of the book progresses intertwined with writings and interviews, and buildings and projects: different perspectives and evaluations of Gürsel and his architecture by names such as Afife Batur, Gökçeçiçek Savaşır, Nihal Coşkun; writings directly on the projects, along with the experiences of Nilüfer Göle, Aydan Volkan; subjective narratives conveying personal experiences with Gürsel by Oya Erar, Tavit Köletavitoğlu; short writings and small stories by Haydar Karabey; side notes and anecdotes accompanying the projects by Gürsel himself; live exchanges with Gürsel like İpek Akpınar’s river interview form the main lines of this structure.

Edited by N. Müge Cengizkan, Gizem Albayrak

December 2017, Chamber of Architects Publications, Ankara, 277 pages.

Subject / Sub-Subject: Architect / Design / Application
Language: Turkish
Editors: N. Müge Cengizkan, Gizem Albayrak
Design: Nilgün Kara Babacan
Cover Design: Bülent Erkmen
Application: Ebru Laçin
Publisher: Chamber of Architects Publications
ISBN: 978-605-01-1097-5
Publication Date: December 2017
Number of Pages: 277

Chamber of Architects: http://www.mimarlarodasi.org.tr/index.cfm?sayfa=belge&sub=detail&bid=14&mid=14&tip=0&Recid=15102&fbclid=IwAR1KkcAO2tCbHBmyQPQfnog3_sR7lTWo_yrD__gyjl2D7ONcrh1yRh8NfJQ