Abstract
Following the devastating earthquakes that hit Turkiye’s southeast region in February 2023, millions of people were displaced and suffered significant losses. In response, a project was developed by design students from five different departments at the Izmir University of Economics as part of the Collective Act elective course. The aim of the project was to provide immediate design-oriented solutions to create a positive change, especially for earthquake survivor-children particularly inhabiting the container district in Izmir. The project used a co-design workshop session to gather insights and determine the needs of the community in temporary residential areas, offering an interdisciplinary and participatory approach to the design process. Based on the workshop session findings, a mobile urban module was designed to circulate within different parts of the city and host activities according to the needs and dreams of the community. Collaboration and the “PLAY” concept were the central aspects of this social responsibility project; therefore, design students worked together with children and collaborated with the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality to design various aspects of the mobile unit, including graphic identity, service-system strategy, interior design, and product design. In addition, we believe that children need to be actors in their own lives and raise their voices in the situations and decisions that affect them. This approach allows them to be included in the design process without disregarding their ideas.
Presenters
Yasemin Albayrak-KutlayResearch Assistant, Interior Architecture and Environmental Design Department, Izmir Ekonomi Üniversitesi, Izmir, Turkey Didem Kan-Kilic
Associate Professor, Interior Architecture and Environmental Design, Izmir Ekonomi Üniversitesi, Izmir, Turkey
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2023 Special Focus: Agency in an Era of Displacement and Social Change
KEYWORDS
COLLABORATIVE DESIGN, DESIGN-ORIENTED SOLUTIONS, DESIGN FOR CHILDREN, POST-DISASTER, MOBILE UNIT
