İrfan Balioğlu – The Unstoppable Life of a Disabled Engineer

This book reflects the autobiography of Irfan Balıoğlu, a patient with FSHD. FSHD is a type of muscular disease that progresses differently in each individual. Sometimes, the person may not even realize they are ill, while other times their movements are significantly restricted. Currently, there is no known cure for the disease; patients can only be supported with appropriate exercises and physical therapy methods.

Irfan Balıoğlu began experiencing the first symptoms in early adolescence. In middle school, his athletic performance declined, in high school, he struggled to lift his arm to write on the blackboard, and he started calculating the steps he needed to take. The disease progressed asymmetrically; first one arm, then the leg in its asymmetrical position would be affected, and this pattern continued. Each year he spent at university, walking became more difficult for him. After that, the progressive nature of FSHD continued for years, eventually leading him to a stage where he could only move with the support of others and breathe with a respirator.

In addition to his struggle with health, Irfan Balıoğlu's childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood were marked by financial difficulties. When he started his career, he had no support network. He would achieve his respected position today through great struggles. His unyielding attitude would lead him to be known as one of Turkey's best engineers and a sought-after structural design engineer due to his pioneering work. Furthermore, even before the term "computer" was widely known, he would write computer programs and passionately continue this work for years.

Irfan Balıoğlu's life is inspiring to all of us. However, his life contains special messages, especially for FSHD patients. While this book contains important notes regarding structural design engineering and architectural history due to his professional work, it was primarily written with FSHD patients in mind, hoping to empower them.

İrfan Balioğlu

Dr. Senior Civil Engineer (ITU)

İrfan Balıoğlu was born in Erzincan, Eğin, in 1946. He started primary school in Eğin and completed it in Istanbul. From 1963 to 1968, he studied at the Faculty of Civil Engineering at Istanbul Technical University (ITU). After graduation, he chose to work in structural design engineering and wrote Turkey's first computer programs in this field. As his knowledge and computer technology developed, so did his programs. Believing that they should be widely used by his colleagues, he made his programs available to the Chamber of Civil Engineers for a period. With the opportunities he created, he designed projects that would have been almost impossible to do by hand in the era of manual calculation, generally outsourced abroad, such as the Pendik Diesel Engine with double cranes operating on the same track, Gebze AEG-ETİ, Aliağa HABAŞ Iron and Steel factories, and UM Marine shipyard, the largest shipbuilding factory in the Middle East, with an 80-meter span and 80-meter height. In addition to heavy industry facilities and shipyard projects, he undertook Turkey's first high-rise buildings such as Akmerkez, Mersin Business Center, and İşbank Headquarters Building. These projects were followed by Istanbul Sapphire, Skyland Istanbul, Ege Perla, Istanbul TV and Radio Tower, and other high-rise buildings. In addition to his work in various cities of Turkey, he worked on numerous projects abroad. He received the Russian State Award for the Russian Tax Office project. In 2001, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate at ITU. In 2008, he was honored with the title of Honorary Competent Engineer by the Chamber of Civil Engineers, and in 2019, he received the Contribution to Architecture Award from the Turkish Association of Freelance Architects. At Balkar Mühendislik, which he founded, many engineers and draftsmen were trained until May 2018—some later opened their own offices or moved to other institutions. On this date, he left all the projects in the office to his colleagues, with the right to use the name, with two exceptions. He ended his active professional life with the Atatürk Cultural Center and Istanbul TV and Radio Tower projects.

In addition to his competent and passionate professional life, Irfan Balıoğlu maintained his prestige through his exemplary struggle as an FSHD patient, a condition that began in his early youth and progressively made his life more challenging; he passed away in 2025.