THEY DEVELOPED PROJECTS THAT REFLECT EXPO 2020 SPIRIT

Izmir University of Economics- Faculty of Fine Arts and Design, Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design, and Department of Architecture organized a workshop on “Health Environments/Spaces in Izmir/Bayraklı” with the participation of students from both departments.
The workshop, co-organized by both departments, was conducted by Maurits Algra and Victor de Leeuw (“Dutch Health Architects - DHA”), who are expert architects on design of health structures, and lecturers from the respective departments. As part of the scenarios given to them, students were assigned to map the current health situation in Bayraklı, which is one of the key areas in urban transformation. Students designed health spaces from the “Perspectives of Users” in Bayraklı, where different income groups live together.
An emergency vehicle trying to move through narrow streets, an elderly resident looking for a pharmacy on duty, a handicapped person trying to reach the nearest healthcare centre with his/her wheelchair exemplify some of the aspects that the students focused on. After bringing together a total of 20 scenarios, the students developed different kinds of project ideas.
Information centres and healthcare units built as temporary structures, interventions of design that focused on the target such as “smart medicines”, mobile health services inspired by minibuses, “houses” specializing in children's diseases attached to the hospital, and “health bridges” serving elderly people’s healthcare were the emerging ideas in the workshop which was very successful for students. Students, who developed original and practical designs in 4 days, also worked hard to develop the best designs for "New Paths to a Better World / Health for All" concept for Izmir’s candidacy to EXPO 2020.
The workshop with its distinctive projects, was conducted by Maurits Algra, Victor de Leeuw (DHA); Asst. Prof. Dr. Deniz Hasırcı, Asst. Prof. Dr. Ahenk Yılmaz, Asst. Prof. Dr. Zeynep Tuna Ultav, Asst. Prof. Dr. Kıvanç Kılınç, lecturers Dr. Bahar Durmaz, Nur Yavuz, Aisha Melodie Hassan; Research Assistants Hande Atmaca, Seren Borvalı, İrem Cabbaroğlu, Oylum Dikmen, Işıl Kazaz.