GAD Foundation

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GAD Foundation Architecture and Development Research, Analysis and Education Foundation

Since 2011, GAD Foundation has brought professionals and students together from all around the world to discuss and plan on issues related to architecture, design, society, education, culture and environment. GAD Foundation works to affect positively practice and theory with a focus on education, society and their intersection of architecture and politics. GAD Foundation team organize workshops, arrange internships, curate exhibitions, create student exchange programmes, write and publish books, engage architectural figures with students and society. GAD Foundation is open to generous members and supporters who make possible to develop aim of foundation and grow.

As part of the UPenn Weitzman M.Arch Kolatan Studio field trip, students visited Haliç Shipyard and had the opportunity ...
30/09/2026

As part of the UPenn Weitzman M.Arch Kolatan Studio field trip, students visited Haliç Shipyard and had the opportunity to explore the site firsthand. The visit was carried out with the support of the Şehir Hatları General Directorate.

Following the site visit, the group visited Ambar, one of GAD’s projects. There, the architectural interventions were examined as an example of adaptive reuse, focusing on the transformation and reuse of the existing structure.
UPenn Weitzman Architecture
Ferda Kolatan
Şehir Hatları AŞ

07/08/2026

Space is not only a built structure; it is also the collective experience of the urban grounds that a city uses, transforms, and redefines over time.

From this perspective, Istanbul’s relationship with the sea is also a story of public space. The process stretching from sea baths to beaches, from changing cabins to seaside gazinos and waterfront parks, shows how the shoreline was used, how access to the sea was shaped, and how urban life’s contact with water changed over time.

credit: istanbulesque-beyoğlu


Mekân yalnızca inşa edilmiş bir yapı değildir; aynı zamanda kentin kullandığı, dönüştürdüğü ve zaman içinde yeniden tanımladığı kentsel alanların kolektif deneyimidir.

Bu açıdan bakıldığında, İstanbul’un denizle ilişkisi aynı zamanda bir kamusal mekân hikâyesidir. Deniz hamamlarından plajlara, kabinlerden kıyı gazinolarına ve sahil parklarına uzanan süreç; kıyının nasıl kullanıldığını, denize erişimin nasıl biçimlendiğini ve kent yaşamının suyla kurduğu temasın zaman içinde nasıl değiştiğini gösterir.

credit: istanbulesque-beyoğlu

Planning your summer?We’ve gathered a selection of places worth visiting this season, handpicked by the architects, desi...
02/07/2026

Planning your summer?
We’ve gathered a selection of places worth visiting this season, handpicked by the architects, designers, and creatives behind our City Guides. From hidden gems to local favorites, these are the places they keep returning to and recommending.
Looking for more inspiration? Explore our City Guides on the website and discover each destination through the eyes of the local creative community.
_cover image: courtesy of the little book of lisbon
_image 2: by Aleksandra
_image 3: courtesy of Divisare
_image 4: by
_image 5: by Fernando Guerra
_image 6: by Timothy Schenck
_image 7: by Rafaela Galafassi
_image 8: by
_image 9: by acanthus
_image 11: by Luis Valdizon
_image 12: by Visit Seoul
_image 13: by Rob van Katwijk
_image 14: by
_image 15: courtesy of Arca Tierra
_image 16: courtesy of Trip Advisor
_image 17: courtesy of Visit Berlin
_image 18: by Ken Hayden
Credit: architecture & design hunter

27/06/2026

Take a look at how our colleague Andreana in the Fabrications team made a model of the Crystal Houses in Amsterdam! 🏛️✨
Completed in 2016, this project had the goal of designing a flagship store reflecting both Dutch heritage and the international architecture of Amsterdam’s P.C. Hooftstraat – a high-end shopping street.
Taking a unique approach to restoration, the façade is composed of glass bricks that mimic the building’s original structure while allowing clear views into the storefront. To realise this concept, new construction techniques were developed for the project, including the use of high-tech lasers and laboratory-grade UV lamps.
♻️ Circularity was also a key consideration in the design of Crystal Houses. All glass components are fully recyclable, while waste materials, such as imperfect bricks, were melted down and re-moulded into new elements.
credit:

/formas Found AgoraMaking its way through the landscape, carving a public clearing into the density of nature. A soft ci...
24/06/2026

/formas Found Agora

Making its way through the landscape, carving a public clearing into the density of nature. A soft civic ground of loops, terraces, gardens, and movement.

A civic loop carved into the coastal forest canopy. A place for walking, gathering, and listening — where the sound of the sea meets the acoustic depth of the trees.

3 Before the garden softens it, the work is exposed: steel, formwork, cranes, access roads, and the unavoidable compromise of building inside nature.

; The hidden phase of a gentle landscape. Even the lightest gesture needs excavation, logistics, concrete, and care.

Between trees and shoreline, the agora becomes an acoustic landscape for walking, pausing, and gathering.

A soft loop in the canopy, shaping movement, pause, and congregation within the density of the forest.

At night, the path glows through the forest like a thin civic trace, gathering people quietly between trees, darkness, and sea.

Terraced clearing : A civic landscape of ramps, planted steps, and curved promenades set against the dense forest edge. The project works as path, seating, lookout, and gathering ground at once, with people moving through it like a continuous public topography.

Curved edge : A close view of the detail: concrete path, white railing, soft grass terraces, and the sinuous line holding everything together. The architecture is simple here, almost infrastructural, but the curve gives it calmness, rhythm, and a very precise edge.

credit: Carlos Bañon Blazquez

05/06/2026

Researchers at Penn in Philadelphia are using food scraps to build the future of sustainable architecture and engineering.
The pioneering project at the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design is working to create environmentally friendly alternatives to concrete and epoxy while also reducing the waste going into landfills.
Each day, about 15,000 meals are made in dining halls at Penn.
More than 90% of the food waste from those meals is composted, and the rest is collected and given to the school’s DumoLab, which is led by director Laia Mogas-Soldevila.


credit:

On May 7, Gokhan Avcioglu joined the final review jury for the Spring 2026 studio led by Şulan Kolatan, assisted by Jami...
08/05/2026

On May 7, Gokhan Avcioglu joined the final review jury for the Spring 2026 studio led by Şulan Kolatan, assisted by Jamie Latimer, at Pratt Institute School of Architecture.

The final jury brought together an international group of architects, educators, and researchers including Tom Verebes, Mariel Collard, Hina Jamelle, Amir Ashtiani, Kerim Eken, Alper Derinboğaz, Ferda Kolatan, and William J. Mac Donald.

Focusing on the adaptive reuse of Istanbul’s historic Haydarpaşa Train Station, the studio explored the relationship between memory, infrastructure, archaeology, urban transformation, and contemporary cultural production. The studio also addressed concepts such as adaptive reuse, spolia, and layered urban memory through Istanbul’s Byzantine and Ottoman heritage. During the review, students presented projects developed through their research and site investigations conducted throughout the semester and during their Istanbul field trip.

The studio approached Haydarpaşa not only as an architectural landmark, but also as a multilayered urban condition shaped by collective memory, migration narratives, ecological systems, and ongoing discussions surrounding public access and future urban use.

Bringing together academia and professional practice, the final reviews created a platform for extensive discussions on adaptive reuse, urban resilience, and the evolving role of architecture within historic cities.

Renowned German painter and sculptor Georg Baselitz has passed away at the age of 88.A pioneer of Neo-Expressionism in t...
30/04/2026

Renowned German painter and sculptor Georg Baselitz has passed away at the age of 88.
A pioneer of Neo-Expressionism in the post-war era, Baselitz reshaped contemporary art with his signature practice of painting figures upside down. His death was confirmed by his longtime gallery, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac.
He leaves behind a profound legacy spanning more than six decades, redefining the boundaries of contemporary art. 🖼️🏛️

Why Do Architects Wear Thick Black Glasses?credit:
23/04/2026

Why Do Architects Wear Thick Black Glasses?
credit:

The   Landscape of the Year 2025, ’s project ‘Embracing Flood: Xinjiang River Ecological Corridor’, demonstrates how emb...
17/04/2026

The Landscape of the Year 2025, ’s project ‘Embracing Flood: Xinjiang River Ecological Corridor’, demonstrates how embracing water can transform cities, restore ecosystems and bring communities together.

The project in Shangrao City, China, revitalises a 102-hectare floodplain and utilises sponge city principles to enhance flood resilience.
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Address

Harbiye Mahallesi Abdi Ipekci Caddesi Park Plaza No:19-1 Kat: 6 Şişli
Istanbul
34367

Opening Hours

Monday 09:00 - 18:00
Tuesday 09:00 - 18:00
Wednesday 09:00 - 18:00
Thursday 09:00 - 18:00
Friday 09:00 - 18:00

Telephone

+902123275125

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