A First in Turkey: DESIGNHUB-IST Design, Education and Application Center

Kadir Has University responds to the need for a center where high value-added projects, services and applications that will increase the quality of life and services in Istanbul can be developed with an important project developed by the Faculty of Art and Design: DESIGNHUB-İST Design, Education and Application Center.

The launch of this project, supported by the Creative Industries Financial Support Program of the Istanbul Development Agency (ISTKA), was held on Thursday, April 14, 2022, at the Cibali campus of the university. The ceremony was attended by Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank, Secretary General of Istanbul Development Agency Erkam Tüzgen, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Kadir Has University Can Has, Rector Prof. Dr. Sondan Durukanoğlu Feyiz, Dean of the Faculty of Art and Design Prof. Dr. Banu Manav, academics, students, members of the press and invited guests.

“WE AIM FOR TURKISH DESIGN TO BECOME A GLOBAL BRAND”

In his speech at the opening ceremony, Minister of Industry and Technology Mr. Mustafa Varank stated that the vision of the Ministry in the design strategy and action plan is “Turkish design becoming a global brand” and that they prioritized design and branding in the development plan in order to be competitively added to global value chains.This internship program, run by the Presidential Human Resources Office, was developed to enable young people to benefit from the career opportunities offered by public and private sector organizations within the framework of the principles of equal opportunity and merit.

“Istanbul, which has been the center of empires and one of UNESCO’s ‘Design Cities’, is the flagship of our country in terms of its weight in the Turkish economy and its integration with the global economy. In this direction, we rolled up our sleeves with a common mind to increase the weight of creative industries in Istanbul, which is the window of cities and brands to the world,” said Minister Varank, adding that they launched the Creative Industries Financial Support Program to meet the needs of financing, human resources and physical infrastructure.

Minister Varank said that they aim to build a “New Design Ecosystem” through Development Agencies, bringing together tradition and innovation, identifying with craft, where technology will meet art, and emphasized that public, private sector, academia, local governments and NGOs should cooperate in this process.

Stating that Kadir Has University will become an important center in the field of creative industries with the DESIGNHUB-IST Design Education and Application Center project, Minister said that the center will be one of the important sources that feed the creative industries ecosystem in Istanbul with its education-workshop-incubation model.

“SUPPORTING THE CREATION OF A SUSTAINABLE DESIGN CULTURE”

Mr. Can Has, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Kadir Has University, said that an unprecedented model has been created in almost all fields of the design industry, especially interior architecture, with this project, to which the Istanbul Development Agency has made a very valuable contribution, and noted the following in his speech at the ceremony:

“DESIGNHUB-IST Design, Education and Application Center will facilitate the international exchange of information and technology between academia, the public and the industry in the development of high quality products in the field of design. It will be an active platform for the development of joint projects.” Can Has stated that this center, as an extension of the New Education Model and Project-Based Education implemented at Kadir Has University, will also make a new contribution to the university’s efforts to prioritize “interdisciplinary studies”.

In his speech, Rector Prof. Dr. Sondan Durukanoğlu Feyiz said, “The main goal of DESIGNHUB-İST as a design, education and application center is to help establish new ecosystems that are institutional, technological and sustainable by creating a model for platforms that will bring together public, private sector and academic institutions.”

Stating that one of the most important agenda items of the design world today is to create sustainable designs while using the limited resources of our planet in the most efficient way, Prof. Dr. Durukanoğlu Feyiz said that the new center will transfer the knowledge, technology and innovative approaches produced worldwide to our stakeholders through educational activities and workshops, and will support the creation of a design culture and awareness in the project development processes to work in accordance with eco-design and the natural life cycle of the material.

Following the opening speeches, a ribbon cutting ceremony was held and Mr. Varank visited DESIGNHUB-İST. After the Minister’s visit, the project presentation and workshop started.

HIGH VALUE-ADDED DESIGNS IN COLLABORATION WITH UNIVERSITIES, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS

DESIGNHUB-İST Design, Education and Application Center, which plans to increase the weight of the creative industries in the design sector in Turkey; to develop concrete projects with the cooperation of universities, public and private sectors and to functionalize the common use areas that will enable knowledge transfer, also aims to contribute to the development of high value-added design in the fields of lighting-acoustic-evidence-based design special expertise under the general framework of interior architecture design in enterprises that operate design activities in Istanbul and have become design centers.

Offering a unique interface model for the design centers ecosystem, both physical and digital, DESIGNHUB-İST’s target groups include design centers operating in Istanbul, architecture, interior architecture and industrial product design companies, construction companies, investors who want to receive human-oriented design services, universities and their research centers.

The general coordinator of the project developed by Kadir Has University Faculty of Art and Design is Prof. Dr. Banu Manav, Dean of the Faculty, while the consultant team includes Assoc. Prof. Dr. Konca Şaher (Acoustics), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Konca Şaher (Acoustics), Dr. Lecturer Ayhan Enşici (Industrial Design) and Dr. Lecturer Sabri Gökmen (Architectural Design). Prof. Dr. Sabri Gökmen (Architectural Digital Design); and Hazal Boy and Zeynep Acırlı in the management team.

Projenin iştirakçileri arasındaysa TMMOB İçmimarlar Odası Genel Merkezi, Aydınlatma Gereçleri İmalatçıları Derneği (AGİD), Aydınlatma Türk Milli Komitesi (ATMK), Endüstriyel Tasarımcılar Derneği (ENTA) ve Türk Akustik Derneği (TAKDER) yer alıyor.