In the TEDU102 course, we had to learn service learning and develop a project for the benefit of the community. Our lecturer was very good. In the first part of the lesson, we learned about the Sustainable Development Goals, why and how they were created, and how we can develop projects based on volunteering for the benefit of society. Then we formed our group and decided on the topic and name of our project. ‘Hidden Forms of Violence in Romantic Relationships: Building Awareness and Empowering TEDU Students’ As it is clear from the name of the project, we decided on a project on creating awareness about manipulation in romantic relationships. After our professor approved it, we started to develop the project and do literature reviews. First of all, we had to measure the level of awareness in our school and for this, we applied the scaled questionnaire from Prof. Dr. Hasan YILMAZ's article Manipulation Scale in Human Relationships to the students in our university. In the meantime, we first contacted the psychology community of our school and then the Gender Equality centre. After learning that both organisations had busy schedules and could not cooperate with us, we contacted the Logos community and they said they could cooperate with us. Then we analysed the results of the survey with Eda Dönmezoğlu and put them into percentages. Rana Sengul prepared some posters to inform people in the school and Zeynep Nisa Çetin hung the posters in different parts of the school. Afterwards, we determined a seminar time with the Logos community and asked Psk. Ebru Öztırak Güngör, who is currently actively doing relationship therapy in Vivere Psychology, to give a seminar on this subject for us, and she did not refuse us. In fact, we were planning to give our seminar face-to-face at school, but unfortunately we could not find a suitable space and time due to some date changes. Nevertheless, we recorded the seminar online and uploaded it to YouTube so that everyone can access it whenever they want and benefit from this valuable information. Afterwards, we presented our project with the poster we prepared at the festival organized at the school for the Tedu102 course, and it was very much appreciated.    The most difficult part of this project was coordinating with university clubs, producing effective content, and touching people while maintaining the sensitivity of the issue. Nevertheless, the positive feedback we received from the participants showed that all our efforts were worth it. Students stated that they started to notice unhealthy relationships thanks to the seminars we organized and the materials we shared. This awareness helped them to draw their own boundaries better, seek help, and support the people around them. This information made us realize some things too. We have gained many important skills in this process. While improving our organizational and communication skills, we have also strengthened our problem-solving competencies in teamwork. Planning events, coordinating with speakers, and making social media announcements have provided me with valuable leadership and project management experience. One of the biggest challenges was organizing speakers by collaborating with various groups. Some organizations directed us to other groups, and our plans were delayed. However, we did not give up and found alternative solutions and used our contacts to speed up the process. Another big challenge was the sensitive nature of the topic. Covert violence and emotional manipulation can be personal and challenging topics for many people. For this reason, we collaborated with mental health experts to create our content, using careful and supportive language to raise awareness and create a safe space. This project not only gave us information about hidden violence but also taught us how to cope with challenges and contribute to society. Seeing that we have achieved much more than we initially thought has been the biggest source of motivation in this process.Frankly speaking, preparing this project has contributed a lot to me. I now feel better about teamwork; I think I have improved myself in terms of human relations and organizing an event. I am aware that manipulation in relationships happens from time to time in all of our lives, and I am more aware of this issue. Prof. Dr. Hasan YILMAZ's article Manipulation Scale in Human Relationships: You can access Vivere Psychology's website here: https://viverepsikoloji.com Vivere Psychology's Instagram account here: @ viverepsikoloji https://www.instagram.com/viverepsikoloji/

Although Photoshop is an application that seems very complicated to everyone, and even those in the profession sometimes do not prefer to use it, I had researched and learned how to use it beforehand. I think it is a very enjoyable program. The freedom to make any changes you want to a picture is an incredible feeling. At the same time, it has a very easy interface to control several pictures, structures, and texts. It has a much simpler interface, especially compared to Rhino and Illustrator. Of course, preparing posters and collages with this interface is also a separate pleasure. Later, we learned Rhino, which is used by architects to prepare three-dimensional digital models. Since the beginning of the semester, I needed an application that I could see three-dimensionally by changing the place of materials in the digital environment. It turned out that Rhino was the application I was looking for! I was really excited when our teachers at school mentioned the application. I think it is a program that makes many tasks easier and is enjoyable to use. Of course, the interface could be a little better, but it is still quite useful. After learning certain things in practice, we also learned how to get orthographic and actionometric drawings of an object we designed in three dimensions. Frankly, this came in handy in the complex organizations we did later, because drawing them by hand would have been a huge burden for all of us. There is also the animation part of Photoshop and Rhino; I didn't know this before. The animation process in Photoshop was really difficult for me. It was a bit confusing at first, and then it became quite challenging. Determining the position, visibility, and movement of everything one by one and needing separate photos for all of these were definitely difficult. Animating in Rhino was much easier. Of course, there were some glitches, but Rhino was definitely easier for the animation I was trying to do. If you ask me, these two programs need to be used in different ways because they serve different purposes. While Photoshop is suitable for simpler visual works, Rhino is more useful for animating three-dimensional objects. However, I think it is very important to learn and use both. I exported all the photos from Rhino one by one and edited this animation in Photoshop. I made this animation by taking snapshots of each moment from the snapshot section of Rhino.

One day, before coming to class, the teachers asked us all to cut a cube opening. None of us understood why we were doing this. It turned out that they were going to explain what an orthographic drawing was. Frankly, it was a very enjoyable class. We were drawing from 3 different angles, independent of perspective. I had a lot of fun doing all my homework. In the first homework, it was really hard to keep the page clean and tidy. Also, getting the line quality and thickness right is really challenging at first. Of course, these difficulties did not reduce the pleasure I had. Later, we learned that we could make the same drawing in a sectioned form and that there was nothing different except scanning the areas where we cut the sections. I think it is very valuable to be able to cast a three-dimensional object into two dimensions in this way. Our first midterm was about this subject. It was an easier midterm than the homework they gave. Of course I had a small deficit. Each line of the hidden lines should be equal. I corrected my mistake after the exam. After these, we learned another method called axionmetric drawing. With this drawing method, we can see 3 different surfaces of the same object in a single drawing without any deformation. As everyone knows, it is very important for us not to be deformed. Although this drawing method was as enjoyable as orthographic, it was not as easy. It also has a section in it, and it is called exploted axionmetric. It is as if they took the features of the two and mixed them. Our 2nd Midteam was also related to this. It was a really hard drawing to understand. It confused us, and at one point I only did what I understood. It really did not make sense, because it was a very difficult drawing. They said that we could make a rhino of it as a bonus later, and I think I understood it better when I made the rhino. Seeing it in 3D or creating it in 3D, even if it was digital, helped it settle in my head.

This time, we worked on a project where we used all the concepts we learned throughout the semester together. We designed three different units and formed a group with these three units that had different volumetric properties and relationships. Returning to the forms and materials I was more familiar with made me feel really comfortable, and the process was very enjoyable for me. I believe that using corrugated cardboard makes it easier to control the enclosure quality of spaces and to create hinges and thresholds. Later, we added linear elements to our groups, allowing us to introduce new characteristics to our volumes. After that, we expanded our organization to include 11 units and 3 groups, which made our strategy even more important. I think following a clear strategy helps to relate volumes to each other and integrate units and groups more effectively. At this stage, my strategy was to surround the central large volume with smaller and more enclosed volumes. Additionally, I connected the three different unit types only within their own axes to establish relationships among them. My model in this form was presented for pre-jury. During the pre-jury, the professors mentioned that they liked the layout of my poster. However, they pointed out that my model did not fully reflect my strategy. Some parts surrounding the central volume were too narrow, and they suggested that removing them might improve the design. They also mentioned that the purpose of the folds was unclear and that it might be more effective to use them in the upper parts. They acknowledged that some volumes and hinges worked well in their specific areas but didn’t create a strong enough effect throughout the entire model. My strategy was understood since it was very strong and clear, but they still emphasized that it needed further development. They also mentioned that I needed to work on my diagram because, in its current state, it was two-dimensional, whereas I needed to create a three-dimensional diagram. This feedback confused me a lot, but I believe I can improve it. After the pre-jury, the professors explained the concepts of hinges and thresholds to us and asked us to specifically focus on these aspects in a certain part of our model. In real life, hinges and thresholds are easier to identify in buildings and structures, but creating a threshold in an abstract environment is quite challenging, in my opinion. After working on this concept in one section of my model, I revised the entire model based on the pre-jury feedback while also paying attention to hinges and thresholds. Following this, the professors mentioned that the references to the central void should also be reflected on the walls and that some parts needed to be opened up. This required me to change my strategy. However, instead of altering my strategy, I decided to create a model that was better aligned with it. I expanded the central void and created a new model using nearly 16 units, then received further critique on this version. At this stage, my strategy evolved into creating a contrast between the large central void and the smaller, denser voids surrounding it. Later, I extended this contrast strategy to the linear elements, ensuring that thick and long elements were contrasted with thin and short ones. Presenting to the jury was truly exciting. I was incredibly nervous throughout the process. Fortunately, the jury members stated that my model successfully reflected my strategy and that my craftsmanship was excellent. However, they mentioned that the contrast strategy in the linear elements was not effective and suggested that if they fragmented from the central part, they could express the void in a different way. They also pointed out that some volumes were too enclosed and that it was unnecessary to fully cover them; instead, allowing some openness could create a more visually and spatially engaging experience. Organizationally, they suggested that the reflections of the central main volume could be seen in the textured areas or at the points where it connects, and that showing these elements on the exterior of the model could contribute to its overall coherence. This way, it would be possible to visually and relationally express that we are looking at the same thing from different perspectives. Even though I think the jury went really well, I can’t deny how nervous and tense I felt throughout the process.

This time, our topic is different from our previous ones, and I think it’s more difficult to understand. We are working on understanding how to create voids and spaces and the relationships between them. As the topic we are trying to grasp changes, along with the materials and shapes we use, I have to admit that I got quite confused. We used a template mostly consisting of triangles, trying to create interconnected voids without removing any pieces but by applying fold and cut & fold operations. Through our initial attempts, we discussed how there needs to be a strategy behind this process and that, even if not visually, we should be able to connect all the spaces logically. In the second exercise, we created our own templates and tried to understand which shapes contributed to which spatial connections. We also reflected on our strategies as we progressed. My strategy was to have two large volumes in opposite directions along the same axis, surrounded by smaller, more fragmented spaces. However, since I am not yet familiar with the material, shapes, and operations, I found it very difficult.

We start with basic materials, and we learn how to use them; now its time to learn design operations and how to use them. There are three basic design operations, and these are move, rotate, and scale. In the first step we had 2 rectangular planes, and we need to apply these operations with some concussions and in an order. This brings us some awareness about how we use these materials and how these operations affect them. In the second step we produce a unit and then we copy that unit 5 times. So we had 6 exactly the same units. Then we applied those design operations when we brought two of them together to create some variations. In total we had three groups, each with two units. After we bring our unit to the studio, the instructors said that a unit should have plans on each 3D dimension to produce a three-dimensional organization. That becomes our third step: we need to revise our initial unit and produce 2 groups with those exact same 5 initial units. While bringing together these units, we should be aware of which operations we used. And we need to use the linear elements too. And for the final, we should produce a contract that is composed of 5 to 7 units and 2 groups. We need to draw an orthographic set; one of the groups creates a poster. With this final work, we organize a pin-up. We hang our posters and tell about our contracts. It was really fun, and we gained some experience about how to explain our work.

John Berger’s Ways of Seeing  emphasizes that art serves as a bridge between history and the present, offering insights into the lived experiences of the past through visual representation. This dynamic relationship highlights how visual media encapsulates not only the creator's perspective but also the viewer's cultural and individual biases. Berger notes that the traditional authority of art has shifted in the age of mechanical reproduction. While reproduced images democratize access, they also dilute the uniqueness and perceived spiritual value of the original artwork. This transition reflects a societal shift from viewing art as an elite medium to integrating it into everyday life. Advertising, on the other hand, distills complex human experiences into material desires. It uses visual imagery not to elevate but to manipulate, perpetuating the notion that happiness stems from ownership. This stands in stark contrast to the role of art, which traditionally sought to connect individuals to broader human experiences or historical truths. Furthermore, Berger’s analysis of context and perception challenges the assumption of art’s timelessness. He argues that the meaning of images evolves with technological and cultural changes, demonstrating how our understanding of art is shaped by its context.

Adolf Loos argued that ornamentation represents a primitive stage of cultural development, unnecessary for modern humans. Loos saw it as a wasteful practice, squandering labor, time, and materials without adding meaningful value. To illustrate this cultural shift, Loos provided a striking example: “Mankind had reached the point where ornament was no longer a source of pleasure, where a tattooed face, instead of increasing people’s aesthetic pleasure as it does for the Papuans, diminished pleasure. People had reached the point where they liked a plain cigarette case, while they would not buy a decorated one, even if the price was the same.” This observation underscores the modern preference for simplicity and functionality over superfluous decoration, reflecting a broader cultural transformation. Loos's philosophy had a profound influence on modernist architecture, promoting austerity and functionalism as central tenets. However, it is essential to consider opposing viewpoints. Historical architecture demonstrates that ornament often serves as a narrative or symbolic expression, connecting structures to their era and culture.

As an architecture student, I spend most of my time in the studio, and honestly, studio work is what makes architecture education feel so unique. Thanks to a Handbook  we were asked to read in a few of our classes, I learned early on why the studio is such an essential part of our education. I’d like to share some of the things I’ve learned and a few of my experiences with you. The studio is not just a place where we design and work independently; it’s also where we collaborate with our peers, push our limits, challenge our creativity, and learn to think like architects. The architecture studio is where we transform ideas into reality. It’s where we dive into projects, from the first sketch to the final presentation. Unlike a regular classroom, there are no strict lectures or textbooks—it's all about hands-on work, getting your hands dirty with models, drawings, and digital designs. This is where we practice what we learn in theory, where we experiment, fail, and learn from it. It's a back-and-forth process. The studio environment is where we really feel we grow as designers, learning both the technical and creative sides of architecture. Nobody can learn architecture by just reading books or watching videos. The studio is where we apply everything we’ve been taught. We learn through doing physical models and creating relationships and organizations; we try to observe what is wrong and what is true. Of course,even in our lives we need to learn how to communicate. We have to defend our ideas, and that’s where communication becomes more importent for us.Every time we present our designs or get feedback, we’re forced to think critically about our choices. Why did we choose that material? Why is this form important? Whether it’s presenting our work or discussing it with classmates, we’re constantly practicing how to communicate our ideas effectively, which is key in architecture. The studio environment encourages us to think outside the box. It’s not just about following standard rules; it’s about creating something unique, pushing boundaries, and coming up with new ways to solve design problems. In the studio, we’re encouraged to be bold with our ideas and take risks. This is where our creative potential really shines. Architecture isn’t a solo profession. In the studio, we often work in groups, discussing ideas, sharing resources, and learning from each other. Collaboration is such an important part of the field, and the studio is the perfect place to develop those teamwork skills. It’s where we understand the value of different perspectives and how to combine them into a cohesive design. There’s a lot of trial and error, and deadlines are tight. In the studio, we learn how to balance all the tasks, manage our time, and stay organized throughout the entire process. From researching to sketching to finalizing models, we quickly realize that time management is everything in architecture. The studio isn’t just a place to work—it’s where we grow as designers and future architects. It teaches us how to apply our knowledge, how to think critically, how to communicate our ideas, and how to collaborate with others. Most importantly, it pushes us to be creative, take risks, and experiment without fear of failure. For me, the studio is the most exciting part of architecture school. It’s where the learning happens, and where we get to shape our own ideas and visions.

In architecture, the importance of taking proper photos lies in accurately capturing the design and details of the structure. Photography serves as a powerful tool for communicating architectural projects, and well-shot images effectively showcase proportions, light use, and material characteristics. A good composition clearly highlights the aesthetic and functional aspects of the building. Additionally, choosing the right angles and perspectives helps present the overall appearance of the structure more clearly. Architectural photography plays both an artistic and informative role. Designed by Emre Bolat, the Ankara Chamber Theatre is a prime example of modern architecture, serving as a cornerstone of the city's artistic and cultural heritage. This theatre reflects a philosophy of simplicity and functionality with its intimate and inviting atmosphere. The meticulous attention paid to acoustics in this theatre ensures that the sound experience is as impactful as the architecture itself, creating an intimate and immersive experience between the stage and the audience, forging a seamless connection. This building, with its minimalist approach, harmonizes with its surroundings while also serving as a vibrant cultural hub in the community. Designed by Şevki Vanlı in 1980, the Ankara State Opera and Ballet is an architectural landmark that stands out as a significant cultural center in the city. It is a structure with geometric forms that successfully combines concrete, glass, and metal. The building is acoustically designed for large-scale performances and features a grand main hall with a capacity of over 1000. Over the years, it has hosted national and international opera, ballet, and other classical art performances. This building enriches the city's cultural treasure by serving as a symbol of Ankara's unwavering commitment to culture and art and by providing a platform for artistic expression. The headquarters building of Türkiye İş Bankası in Ankara was designed by architect Vedat Tek in the early years of the Republic of Turkey. It was completed between 1929 and 1931 and is an important example of early modern architecture. The design features a symmetrical layout. Located on Kocatepe Avenue, the building's grandeur symbolizes both the architectural progress of the period and the importance of the İş Bankası, and is a central symbol of Ankara. Today, the building is still used as the headquarters of İş Bankası.