Erdem Tüzün

Erdem Tüzün, AIA is a Senior Architect at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

Before joining SOM, he spent nine years as a lead designer at Eisenman Architects and held teaching positions at Pratt Institute and TOBB University. He is the co-founder of Architecture for All (Herkes İçin Mimarlık), a nonprofit in Turkey dedicated to addressing social issues through architecture.

Erdem’s work has been recognized with numerous national and international design awards. Both his individual and collaborative projects have been featured in exhibitions and museums, including the Venice Architecture Biennale, Chicago Architecture Biennial, MAXXI Museum, Istanbul Museum of Modern Art, and the V&A Museum.

He is a licensed architect in New York and Turkey, holds a Master of Science in Architecture from Pratt Institute, and graduated cum laude from Istanbul Technical University.

For collaboration, please connect via email.

Selected Recognitions

2022 National Architecture Prize, Chamber of Architects of Turkey, Contribution to Architecture Award (w/ Architecture for All)
2020 Taksim Square Urban Design Competition, Shortlisted
2019 Chicago Architecture Biennial, Secret Ingredient (w/ Architecture for All)
2018 Venice Architecture Biennale, Pavilion of Turkey, Associate Curator
2017 Çekirge Square Urban Design Competition, 1st Prize
2016 National Architecture Prize, Chamber of Architects of Turkey, Representation Award
2015 Pamukkale University SOA Competition, Honorable Mention
2015 Victoria and Albert Museum, Disobedient Objects Exhibition (w/ Architecture for All)
2012 Çanakkale Antenna Tower Competition, Honorable Mention
2010 Mamak Prison Adaptive Reuse Idea Competition, 2nd Prize
2010 Çankaya Concert Hall Competition, Honorable Mention
2010 Archiprix Turkey, Honorable Mention
2010 Kızılay Square Urban Design Competition, 1st Prize

IZMIR TOWN HALL

More coming soon.

Competition. 2023. w/ Nesli Naz Aksu, Ata Aksu, Talya Polat

TAKSIM SQUARE

The proposal suggests moving away from traditional, closed, and static structures, into open and dynamic arrangements. The vision for Taksim is one that is inspired by the predominant character of the space and extended to be seamlessly integrated into a holistic, novel one. Taksim Square should be flexible, responsive, and adaptive, all the while respecting the historical narrative.

International Competition. Shortlisted. 2020. w/ Hayrettin Günç, Yelta Köm, Elif Tan, Studio Libani, Visuals: Teras

VARDIYA, BIENNALE VENEZIA

Vardiya / the Shift committed a program full of public events to turn the Pavilion of Turkey into an open space for temporary accommodation, production, and encountering. Selected architecture students with an international open call took weekly shifts at the pavilion as active producers of an evolving exhibition content.

The pavilion curated by Kerem Piker, Cansu Cürgen, Yelta Köm, Nizam Onur Sönmez, Yağız Söylev, and Erdem Tüzün.
The Pavilion of Turkey, La Biennale di Venezia 16th Architectural Exhibition. 2018.

ÇEKIRGE SQUARE

The proposed project lays out short and long-term strategies to renew the character of Bursa’s Çekirge neighborhood. On an urban scale, the project creates a pedestrian promenade that connects different landmarks and focal points in the area. Along the trail, multiple architectural and landscape-oriented interventions are proposed to increase the vibrancy of the area.

Competition. First Prize. 2017. w/ Hayrettin Günç

PAMUKKALE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

The dualist mode of thinking in the contemporary architectural profession for building and ground relationship fluctuates between either disguising the building with natural elements and creating a fake sense of the natural or undermining the ground by fetishizing the figure. The proposal sits in between, where the artificial and natural are in a symbiotic relationship.

Competition. Mention Prize. 2016. w/ Sina Özbudun, Isaac Michan, Yelta Köm

BETONART 46, NOW+

Betonart 46 asks about the status of architecture now and in the near future to various actors from architectural practice, theory, education, publication. The issue includes twenty interviews including Marina Otero Verzier, Nil Tuzcu, Gökhan Kodalak, Adnan Aksu, Beatriz Colomina, Cynthia Davidson, Isaac Michan, Kutan Ayata, Pelin Tan, Peter Eisenman, and Johan Bettum.

Betonart, a quarterly architectural magazine, Issue 46, is guest-edited by Erdem Tüzün and Yelta Köm. 2015. Cover Image: Refik Anadol

CULTURESCAPE

The exhibition design consists of two overlapping elements: the twenty meters long table hosting the "symbols and rituals" section, and the triangulated aluminum panel surfaces holding works of the seven invited participants of the exhibition.

Istanbul Museum of Modern Art. 2015. w/ Yelta Köm, Photo: Sahir Uğur Eren

IZKA HEADQUARTERS

IZKA Headquarters is designed to accommodate the incubation center and administrative offices shaped around an atrium that creates a spatial continuity within the building. The continuous ramp weaves the two parts of the incubation center and creates a continuous working space and opportunities for casual encounterings.

Competition. 2012. w/ Sina Özbudun, Isaac Michan, Yelta Köm

THE GIANT MACHINE

The Giant Machine questions the human footprint on the earth as well as the existence and the conflict of nature and design. The Giant’s composition fused into nature enables its own aesthetics via overcoming its authentic intentions. Objects gain functions distinct from previous versions and evolve into a layered flowing form by combining.

National Architecture Award (Chamber of Architects of Turkey). 2012.

MAMAK