In the Finals with a 27-Story Office Design
İzmir University of Economics (IUE) students have reached the finals of the Earthquake-Resistant Building Design Competition organized by the Turkish Catastrophe Insurance Pool (TCIP) with their 27-story office building design named “Finance Bridge.” As required by the competition format, the team designed a building intended to be located in the Istanbul Financial Center and also produced a scale model of the project. The team became one of the 21 finalist teams selected from across Türkiye. The final of the competition, which aims to improve students’ earthquake awareness and earthquake-resistant building design skills, will be held in Istanbul on May 13–15, 2026.
The team, consisting of IUE Civil Engineering students Arcan Koşvar, Ece Koçanalı, and Mert Arzık, along with Department of Architecture students Zeynep Bahtiyar and Zeynep Yazan, underwent a 3-month preparation process for their project.
EARTHQUAKE ANALYSIS CONDUCTED
Guided by Assist. Prof. Egemen Sönmez from the IUE Department of Civil Engineering, the students worked on the finest details of how the structural system consisting of beams, columns, shear walls, and cross-braces and the architectural features would be shaped to prevent damage to the building in a potential earthquake. The team also conducted earthquake analysis of the 27-story building through computer modeling. After successfully advancing to the finals among many ambitious projects, the students set their goal as winning first place.
“DESIGNED TO ENSURE LIFE SAFETY”
Assist. Prof. Egemen Sönmez recalled that although they qualified for the finals in their first attempt at the competition last year, they narrowly missed winning a prize, and added that this year they aim to achieve first place. Emphasizing that their office building project was designed to ensure life safety in an earthquake, Assist. Prof. Sönmez commented: “While preparing for this project, our students did not only design an aesthetic or functional building; they adopted a holistic approach that centers the reality of earthquakes and combines engineering and architecture disciplines. In addition, thanks to the computer modeling and earthquake simulations they carried out, they had the opportunity to test how the structure they designed would behave under different scenarios. Such competitions are very valuable for helping students put their theoretical knowledge into practice.”
“A MAJOR ACHIEVEMENT FOR STUDENTS”
Assist. Prof. Sönmez continued his remarks: “For our students to gain early awareness of earthquake-resistant structural design is a major achievement for their professional future. I believe this experience will be a strong step in their career journeys. We are proud and happy to have reached the finals. I believe we have created an aesthetic design that stands out and that we are satisfied with. I congratulate all our students in the team for their success.”
