Less or More - New Ideas on Architecture, Design, Art, Theory (A4 Size, Hardcover)

“For us, a building continues to exist by being designed and built with features distilled from the ideas we explain in this book, rather than being an either/or dilemma of less or more. For this reason, the title of this book was chosen as LESS OR MORE, to draw attention specifically to “meaning” and “resistance” beyond the idea of architectural abstraction being less or more.” Gökhan Avcıoğlu, 2023

The book LESS OR MORE has been published, featuring the personal memories, notes, questions, sketches, and designs of Gökhan Avcıoğlu and his colleagues at the GAD Foundation, explaining their architectural practice's endeavors over a specific period. LESS OR MORE aims to inventory the architectural, design, art, and theoretical works of Gökhan Avcıoğlu and the GAD Foundation, and to raise awareness about important issues concerning contemporary architecture. The book presents not only their works but also countless data, narratives, history, and turning points related to architectural design worldwide.

LESS OR MORE

This book, which can be described as a kind of “director's cut” including the personal memories, notes, questions, sketches, and designs of Gökhan Avcıoğlu and his colleagues, and explaining how their architectural practice's efforts unfolded over a specific period, aims to both inventory our works and raise awareness about important issues concerning the architecture of our time.

In this context, the book presents not only our works but also countless data, narratives, history, and turning points related to architectural design worldwide. The introductory boxes in this book, pointing to the world outside architecture, are designed for those interested in design practice to also be knowledgeable about such topics.

This book is not merely an anthology of GAD's structures/works; the structures/works included in the book, regardless of whether they are experimental, under construction, or already built, have been selected as examples for the reader to discuss their existing thoughts and perspectives.

Who is Gökhan Avcıoğlu?

Gökhan Avcıoğlu, founder and director of GAD Architecture and the GAD Foundation, has been producing dynamic, innovative concepts for projects ranging from small private homes to large-scale urban planning around the world for over 25 years. Avcıoğlu was born in Ankara in 1960. In addition to his education and artistic activities in fields such as painting and sculpture, Avcıoğlu, who studied architecture at Konya Selçuk University in 1983, has won numerous awards for his work, including the 1997 Turkish Architects Award, Bronze Medal. He founded the architectural firm Global Architectural Development (GAD) in 1994. In 2014, he established the GAD Foundation to conduct research and share knowledge on architecture and settlement culture. Office buildings, hotels, cultural centers, public and commercial spaces, and numerous residences in Istanbul, Bodrum, New Jersey, New York, Washington D.C., Virginia, Connecticut, and Moscow are among his comprehensive and countless projects. While leading architectural design studios at universities such as Ecole Speciale, UPenn Weitzman Architecture, Yıldız Technical University, and Istanbul Technical University, he has also made significant contributions to the field of architectural theory.