When Yabangee first moved into ATÖLYE, the city’s most creative space, in early 2017 it felt as though we had stumbled upon something entirely new – the first steps of a fresh undertaking. Its home, bomontiada, was still reveling in the beginnings of their deserved popularity, and the interior of ATÖLYE overflowed with thoughtful design and modern, slick amenities. The community was abuzz with new members from an array of disciplines, collaborating, prototyping, and exchanging ideas, and organically creating an atmosphere of genuine excitement. It was certainly unique to us and simply put, it felt like the start of something bigger than itself.
Now, well over a year later, those sentiments persist and have evolved in their own distinct ways. The facilities continue to impress, always updating and adapting to the needs of the community, with clever design always at the forefront. The opportunities to collaborate, exchange ideas, learn, and grow are the foundation of a community that carries on attracting members with plenty to offer. Even the external space of bomontiada echoes this progress with an ever-expanding program of thriving cultural and entertainment events worthy of their international following.
Yet despite the constant feeling of newness, ATÖLYE is in fact… not. It is a vision currently being realized, with origins dating back years before this contemporary iteration. The journey of ATÖLYE is a story of passion-fueled ideas founded in fundamental principles that have dictated its path and ultimately its success.
In an effort to document this tale, ATÖLYE – through the writings of the diverse, talented team driving the project forward – has taken to Medium. What ensues is a trove of content depicting the objectives, successes, lessons learned, renewed applications, spiritual ethos, and an array of fascinating insights into this unique platform.
To celebrate the tenth episode in sharing their story, we take a look at what’s been posted so far.
Build Community, Space Will Come
By Engin Ayaz (Co-founder & Head of Design), Bala Gürcan (Communications Assistant)
In many ways, the origin of ATÖLYE is a classic tale. Two young, promising entrepreneurs (Engin Ayaz and Kerem Alper) have a vision and set out to put it into action. Like many of these stories, it’s loaded with challenges, of which conceptual and financial concerns of course reign supreme. Beyond this however, their efforts truly break from convention, as this debut details how their unique vision brings about unique obstacles. In a manifesto embodying a commitment to community, design, social impact, and social change, it quickly becomes clear that this is not a typical business pursuit, but rather an ambitious project founded on essential core values. What results is an arduous, detailed, and devoutly dedicated approach to setting the wheels of ATÖLYE in motion. The start of which makes for a fascinating read…
Branding Journey
By Engin Ayaz (Co-founder & Head of Design), Bala Gürcan (Communications Assistant), Emre Erbirer (Communications & Events Lead)
What goes in a name? How much weight does a logo really hold? How often do any of us actually take the time to thoughtfully consider the logos, slogans, and corporate signifiers in the world around us. The branding of ATÖLYE is, appropriately, a story of design – one which dates back to 2012 and has experienced numerous reevaluations through the years. In this sophomore effort, we learn more on the behind-the-scenes visual and conceptual branding process.
Transdisciplinarity as an Intent
By Engin Ayaz (Co-founder & Head of Design), Bala Gürcan (Communications Assistant)
A personal favorite, Transdisciplinarity as Intent offers a wider perspective on the traditional interpretations of disciplines and their role – historical, philosophical, academic, and practical – in progressing us through to the 21st century. In this exploration, we reach at the core of the self-defined “Transdisciplinary Innovation Platform” and learn the rationale of building a community, around and for, so many varied disciplines. The digital mapping of the interactions between the four disparate criteria of social sciences, business development, technology & engineering, and creative industries makes for especially compelling content.
Explorations in Interface Design: The New ATÖLYE Website
By Engin Ayaz (Co-founder & Head of Design), Emre Erbirer (Communications & Events Lead)
Much like in Branding Journey, this piece is a thoughtful excursion on a process that doesn’t garner much analysis on the user-end but is of monumental importance in our digital age for the creators. From obvious concerns of maintaining a modern, slick look for their site, to being an accessible and practical means of conveying information, they also look beyond to user behaviors, integrity of vision and branding, in-depth design and form concerns, and exploring interfaces at large. The result of which ultimately culminates in a thoughtfully designed landing page, adhering to the principles of the platform, and providing a curated experience from start to finish.
Do it Together: Maker Culture and Turkey
By Engin Ayaz (Co-founder & Head of Design)
Depending on one’s field and country of origin, “maker culture” likely carries different connotations, if any at all. As highlighted here, the prevalent subculture most would recognized originates in the USA and is largely dependent on four key factors of “urban planning, value of labor, individual society, and a culture of experimentation”. In comparing the landscapes that surround maker culture in the USA and Turkey, both historically and today, Engin Ayaz details a deep understanding of the roots supporting this movement locally. Through this outlook, ATÖLYE embraces the unique state of Turkey’s maker subculture, recognizing and tackling its challenges head on, and propelling it towards a future in line with the overall vision of the platform.
Deceleration: In Praise of Slowness and Trust
By Engin Ayaz (Co-founder & Head of Design), Bala Gürcan (Communications Assistant)
Followers of the modern start-up world are well aware of the enormous challenges that entrepreneurs face. It is a culture predicated on speed and quantity, in regards to both initiatives and investments. Unsurprisingly, the result is a climate that sees most falter as soon as they take their first steps. With an approach emphasizing deceleration, ATÖLYE demonstrates not only an unwavering belief in their own values and future, but reminds us that there is much to gain from taking our time. In doing so here, they outline the necessity of time to foster trust, build community, apply foresight and carefully analyze outcomes, and in the end, find the opportunity to offer the best of our own ability.
Creative Hubs: The Map and The Territory
By Engin Ayaz (Co-founder & Head of Design), Emre Erbirer (Communications & Events Lead)
Largely building on concepts explored in Transdisciplinarity as Intent, this work focuses on a rather daunting undertaking of ATÖLYE to map out the physical and digital creative hubs of Istanbul, gain insight from the resulting patterns and connections, and ultimately utilize this detailed network to push forward collaborations for the benefit of all communities involved. The result is a series of ever-changing and evolving challenges, some reflective of global trends and others unique to the local culture of the city, all of which necessitate the mapping’s nimble dedication in highlighting emerging trends and patterns, without falling into the pitfalls of trying to convey a static impression. The admitted “first approximation” nature of this pursuit will likely be the start of much to follow.
Community Curation
By Atılım Şahin (Community & Prototyping Lab Lead)
Logic dictates that hosting a transdisciplinary breadth of 150-odd members at ATÖLYE requires some degree of curation – and while this is true, the reality extends far beyond this basic explanation. The curation approach employed by ATÖLYE is in fact, as one might expect by now, a nuanced approach focused on human relationships, forging shared identities, and reaching beyond the barrier of inner circles to the outer community at large. Employing toolkits based on “space, purpose, and diversity”, the traditional exclusivity of such communities is shed in favor of natural connections both within the walls of the physical space and that of neighboring environments. In doing so, the potential for growth is palpable, with a proven track record promoting professional development, launching and maintaining over a hundred projects, and facilitating a world in which collaboration is fluid and properly cultivated.
Designing in a Wicked World
By Mert Çetinkaya (Organisation & Learning Design Lead)
In simplest terms, “wicked problems” are the issues facing modern societies which are increasingly difficult to solve due to constantly changing landscapes, insufficient information and resources to cope, and that are inherently challenging to identify from the outset. In looking through this lens of a “wicked world”, ATÖLYE applies their dedicated undercurrent of design to address these challenges. Through this piece, it becomes clear that the approach of wicked problems in design thinking is complex and varied, affecting both their internal interactions such as with stakeholders and meeting benchmark goals, as well as having large impact in the society they aim to foster.
Hacking Everyday Objects
By Atılım Şahin (Community & Prototyping Lab Lead), Mertcan Avcı (Prototyping Lab Associate)
In following ATÖLYE, one of the first major standouts is the sheer number of transdisciplinary events taking place within their walls. Workshops play a key component of this dynamism, inviting people of all backgrounds to learn and reevaluate their conceptual approaches. In a recent series, “Hacking Everyday Objects”, ATÖLYE takes this one step further, with attendees transforming the objects of their daily lives, distancing themselves from technology, and redefining their conventional perceptions. In this piece, we are walked through the entire process of hosting such a workshop, the obstacles along the way, the successes, and lessons learned. It’s an honest look into pushing both the boundaries of attendees and the educators themselves having to assess their own expectations, participant demands, and how to build upon these elements and momentum in future efforts.
To read the articles in full, be sure and check out the official ATÖLYE Medium page. You can also learn more about Istanbul’s most creative space via their official site.
