Contemporary Architecture and Art - In Honor of Prof. Dr. Bülent Özer

“In reality, Bülent Özer was a thinker far ahead of his time. It is difficult to believe that he was adequately read and understood. If he had been properly assimilated, contemporary Turkish architecture would not have been stifled by Western imitation...” The book A Tribute to Prof. Dr. Bülent Özer: Contemporary Architecture and Art, prepared by YEM Yayın with the aim of introducing Bülent Özer, whom Prof. Dr. Suha Özkan described in this way, to future generations, has been published.

Dedicated to the memory of Prof. Dr. Y. Eng. Architect Bülent Özer, one of the most important figures in the discipline of Architectural History in Turkey, whom we lost in June 2016, the book contains four sections following the article "Who is Bülent Özer?" penned by Prof. Dr. Filiz Özer. The first section, titled "Selected Articles by Bülent Özer," was compiled to bring back into focus some of Bülent Özer's influential writings, published in various outlets over the years, which reflect his extensive knowledge and generated significant discussion. The second and third sections, prepared as a selection of invited papers and open-call articles presented at symposia held in Özer's memory since 2017, focus on the themes of "Old-New Relationships" and "Technology and Art," respectively. The fourth section includes commemorative articles written in the context of the symposia... Finally, the book, which also contains a comprehensive "Bülent Özer Bibliography," lists the chapters, topics, and authors as follows:

SELECTED ARTICLES BY BÜLENT ÖZER

• Definition and Scope of the Concept of Art Towards the Year 2000
• A System Proposal on Design Methods in Architecture
• Mimar Sinan as a Representative of Pluralism in Mosque Architecture
• A Classificatory Look at Postmodernism
• Bruno Taut: On His Personality and a House on the Bosphorus
• Celâl Esat Arseven

OLD-NEW RELATIONSHIPS

• Different Solutions for Utilizing Tradition in Contemporary Architecture: Prof. Gottfried Böhm (Ayla Antel)
• The Contemporary Meaning of Protecting Urban Defensive Structures (Işık Aydemir)
  Kılıç Ali Paşa Bath Restoration (Cafer Bozkurt)
• The Relationship Between Stage Architecture, Musical Drama, and Stage Design from Past to Present (A. Bengi Buğay)
• The Impossible Synthesis: Innovation and Experience in Sedad Hakkı Eldem’s Arkitekt Articles (Efe Duyan)
• Inconsistent Relationships with the Past in Architecture (Doğan Hasol)
• A Look at Old-New Relationships in Architecture Through Aga Khan Award-Winning Projects (Ebru Özeke Tökmeci)
• Prof. Dr. Bülent Özer’s and Prof. Dr. Filiz Özer’s Thoughts on “Historical Continuity and Contemporary Architecture” (Filiz Özer)

TECHNOLOGY AND ART

• Interdisciplinary Thoughts at the Intersection of Design and Dentistry on Experience-Oriented Orthodontic Clinics (Abdüsselam Selami Çifter - Muhsin Çifter)
• Architecture and Robotic Production: The Evolution of the Architect's Tools (Efe Gözen)
• The Fourth Revolution (Ayşe Hasol Erktin)
• Two Proposals for Sculptures as Spatial Interventions in Public Space (Meriç Hızal)
• The Pinnacle of Performance Arts Architecture and Technology Relationship: Franco Dragone’s Water Theater (Anıl Özgür - Özge Gündem)

IN THE WAKE OF BÜLENT ÖZER IN THE CONTEXT OF SYMPOSIA

• Locality, Modernity, Stratification (Hasan Çalışlar)
• The Active Intelligence Model of the Designer in Bülent Özer (Ufuk Doğrusöz)
• My Professor Dr. Bülent Özer (Erol Evgin)
• On Bülent Özer (Suha Özkan)

Prof. Dr. Ebru Özeke Tökmeci, the editor of the book, speaks of Bülent Özer in the preface as follows:
“….. Throughout the long history of the Academy of Fine Arts, Art and Architectural History courses were taught by professors such as Vedad Bey (1899-1913), Celal Esad Arseven (1924-1943), H. Kemali Söylemezoğlu (1936-1946), Ali Saim Ülgen (1939-1944), Turgut Cansever (1946-1952), and Behçet Ünsal (1952-1982). After Prof. Dr. Bülent Özer joined the DGSA in 1964, Architectural History courses gained a new dynamism with the addition of Contemporary Architecture topics to their curriculum. In the words of Prof. Esad Suher: ‘… [Özer’s] work and lectures on architectural history, especially contemporary architecture, marked a real advancement in this discipline at our institution. His lectures were a cultural feast, with students from other university faculties eager to attend.’
….. Prof. Dr. Özer’s publications, based on his academic work spanning many years, cover a wide variety of topics, from comments on culture, art, and architecture to concepts of historicity and tradition, from introductions to local and foreign artists and their works to impressions of architectural works. This undoubtedly involves a multifaceted, research-oriented personality and a broad perspective that goes beyond conventional frameworks. Özer’s interpretation of the concept of culture is broad enough to guide humanity’s efforts to emerge from its current crisis: ‘Culture is the state of balance between the intellectual and emotional worlds of a given society, within the framework of that society’s real needs and possibilities in material and spiritual realms.’ Achieving this balance makes the creativity of society an important factor. The creativity mentioned here, however, can only be achieved by enabling every individual to actively exchange information with their environment, establishing a conscious system of positive or negative relationships with objects.
According to Özer, a work of art is interpreted as ‘the sensory symbol of culture.’ In this case, one can speak of an unlimited and organic connection between a society’s culture and its art, and its art and its culture. Özer defines the concept of art as ‘the ability to provide impulses that can affect an individual, and ultimately society, spiritually,’ and this definition necessitates thinking about aesthetic experience. Aesthetic experience should not be perceived merely as ‘pleasurable experience,’ ‘beautiful experience’; a work of art should be able to be pleasing, joyful, amusing, saddening, surprising, or figurative, abstract, permanent, or temporary, depending on the context.
Prof. Dr. Bülent Özer defines architecture, which he considers the foremost of the arts aimed at creating spatial arrangements, as well as a complex yet organic synthesis of various data and disciplines, as ‘the ability to arrange space in a way that can emotionally support the activities it houses, within the framework of a society’s real possibilities and needs.’ Indeed, all kinds of work and behavior in this field, from the smallest irreducible spatial units to spatial arrangements that can be extended to the largest scale, can easily be accommodated within the scope of the architectural concept. In this definition, the concept expressed as a society’s unique needs points to the function of the architectural work, while unique possibilities emphasize the optimal financing factor as well as the technological capabilities that will determine the material, construction, and structure of the work, and the idea of emotional support describes the artistic effect...”