An Anatomy of an (Architectural) Design Process – A Guide to Unveiling the Design Idea and Establishing the Design Process - 2nd Edition

Boğaçhan Dündaralp’s book, “Anatomy of an (Architectural) Design Process – A Guide to Uncovering Design Ideas and Establishing a Design Process,” has been published by YEM Publications.

Boğaçhan Dündaralp, who prepared the book to illustrate how knowledge can be used in the design process, summarizes “who and what it is for” as follows:

“How do design ideas for an architectural project emerge?

How do they become a design process?

How do we manage this process?

What is the purpose of a high-quality architectural project that emerges?

Why and how do we do this work?

And many similar questions, discussed in architecture education, studios, and offices, are the most important determinants of the quality of the work.

As someone who runs an architectural project and design office, is involved in professional architectural production and architectural education, and is curious about these issues in studios and competitions, I primarily ask this question in this book: ‘If knowledge is everywhere, as a designer, which ‘knowledge’ do I use, why, and how?’

Designed in a flexible format that allows everyone involved in design, especially architecture studios and students, to add their own questions and fill in the blanks, this book invites its reader on their own journey.

... This book is not written in an academic format; it is not a book that researches, compiles, classifies, and conveys existing knowledge; it is a book that tries to make visible how knowledge can be used in the design process. In doing so, it offers not so much defined, formulated methods, but rather explores the commonalities at the root of different approaches as a workable model in the design process. In this respect, it is not for informational purposes, but for the purpose of using information. In the book, I aim to deepen this approach and turn it into a guide for everyone...”

The book, prepared for publication by Binat Medya Grubu, was edited by Sibel Senyücel, copy-edited by Aslı Erdem, and its graphic design and application were done by Gül Dönmez.

WHO IS BOĞAÇHAN DÜNDARALP?

Born in Aydın in 1974. Graduated from Dokuz Eylül University, Faculty of Architecture, Department of Architecture in 1997. During his student years, he worked with Nevzat Sayın (NSMH) and Tamer Başbuğ (TH&İdil); he participated in the Turkish Architecture Students Gatherings and the Torbalı Metropolis Excavations. He won various awards in student competitions; he received an honorable mention in the Archiprix_Turkey 1997 Graduation Projects Competition.

Before establishing his own office, he worked on structural system design and applications at Yapı Merkezi between 1999 and 2005. With the fab-tek® system, which he participated in developing in 1999 and managed until 2005, Yapı Merkezi became a finalist for the TÜBİTAK-TTGV-TÜSİAD Technology Grand Award.

He won numerous national awards, including the Arkitera Young Architect Award (2004), National Architecture Awards (1998, 2006), and the YEM (Yapı-Endüstri Merkezi) Award (2008). His projects and works were nominated for the Mies van der Rohe, Aga Khan, and Iakov Chernikov awards.

Some of his works were published in the book Genç Çizgiler / Young Lines (Arkitera Yayınları, 2004). In 2009, he was selected as one of three architects to represent Istanbul within the London–Istanbul International Exchange Program organized by The Architecture Foundation / London; the program resulted in the book İstanbul Para-doxa (Garanti Galeri, 2010). In 2012, he was invited to the “Adhocracy” exhibition curated by Joseph Grima as part of the 1st Istanbul Design Biennial and participated with his “Intervention” in Yona Friedman’s “Golden Horn Center” project. His works were also featured in the books Asilik Sonrası Mimarlık / Osmanlı Başkentinden Küreselleşen İstanbul’a: Mimarlık ve Kent, 1910-2010 (Ottoman Bank Archives and Research Center, 2010) and Turkey: Modern Architectures in History (Reaktion Books, 2012).

Between 2010 and 2014, he took part in a project realized with a participatory model for the preservation and improvement of Kuzguncuk Bostanı. The project was featured in national and international exhibitions, conferences, publications, and theses. In 2019, Dündaralp's life, projects, and architectural approach were monographically examined in a master's thesis titled “An Attempt at a Monograph: Architect Boğaçhan Dündaralp and Other Architectural Possibilities,” prepared by Hülya Irmak. His works and interviews also served as sources for various master's and doctoral theses. In 2024, he contributed to the book Çocuk ve Mimarlık (FOL, 2024) with a text on “learning spaces.”

Dündaralp, who serves as a jury member in National Architecture Exhibitions and national competitions, has been managing the architectural office ddrlp since 2005; he also works as a part-time lecturer and design studio instructor at various universities. In addition to his architectural practice at ddrlp, where he develops solution strategies with his versatile stance in the field of architectural knowledge and design research at different scales, Dündaralp continues his productions through conferences, jury memberships, workshops, writings, interviews, exhibitions, and publications.

Dündaralp, a father of two, lives and works in Kuzguncuk with his wife and business partner Berna Dündaralp.