The Great Game
Hands-on training in negotiation, strategy, and design agency on a live urban gameboard.
01 — About
Why this workshop
International visibility, strategic foresight, and professional development — in a live urban context.
A joint initiative of Politecnico di Torino (Italy), AURA Istanbul, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, and UBT College Kosovo. Graduate students in architecture, urban design and planning, City and Regional Planning, and Architecture and Spatial Planning apply The Great Game — a pedagogical experiment from Politecnico — to a real case study in Kartal, Istanbul.
The workshop tests a proven international methodology on active urban transformation, producing scenarios grounded in regulation, economy, and governance — with direct relevance for the city and its institutions. Universities, local authorities, practitioners, and emerging designers work together in an intensive setting where ideas can be tested before implementation.
What students gain
International network
Intensive collaboration across Politecnico di Torino, AURA Istanbul, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, and UBT College Kosovo.
Professional exposure
Direct contact with practitioners, stakeholders, and institutions shaping Istanbul and Kartal.
02 — Framework
The Great Game
Design is collective and political, yet studios often teach the architect as lone author. In practice, ideas must be negotiated with politicians, experts, investors, and communities — adapted and legitimised by those who shape space.
Can that competence be taught? The Great Game says yes: participants define strategies, align actors, and learn how concepts become implementable through institutional and economic dynamics. Tested over five years on gameboards in Detroit, Stazzema, Kiruna, and Belgrade; a finalist for the EAAE Pedagogy Awards 2024 (see References).
Site context · Kartal, Istanbul
The workshop centres on Kartal — a district in active transformation, with regulatory conditions well suited to the game. Students respond to real spatial, regulatory, and stakeholder challenges at the intersection of architectural vision and metropolitan politics.
Here the city is the gameboard: a bounded field of competing interests and incomplete information. The stakes must be real — constraints that hold, actors with institutional weight, conditions that resist easy answers.
03 — Partners
Institutional partners
Italy
Politecnico di Torino — DAD
Department of Architecture and Design: a leading unit dedicated to architecture, urban design, and design — integrating education, research, and knowledge transfer across sustainability, economics, heritage, and cultural production.
Turkey
AURA Istanbul
Academy of Architecture and Urban Research — an independent non-profit institution addressing global challenges shaping contemporary cities, with particular focus on Istanbul. Certificate programmes, research, and design initiatives for emerging professionals.
Turkey
Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University
Faculty of Architecture — among Turkey's oldest institutions (from 1882). Undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in architecture, urban design, and city planning engaging Istanbul's transformation.
Kosovo
UBT College Kosovo
Pioneering higher education in architecture, urban planning, and design — applied research, sustainability, and technology-driven, project-based learning with international collaboration.
Host institution
On-site host · Kartal, Istanbul
Kartal Municipality
Under Mayor Gökhan Yüksel, Kartal Municipality hosts the Summer School on site — supporting the on-site programme, local institutional dialogue, and the district as a setting for international academic exchange on urban design and transformation.
Graphic design
kankan看看
kankan看看 produced the workshop poster and visual communications for The Great Game Design Summer School — supporting the programme's public presence and outreach across partner institutions.
04 — Programme
Structure & calendar (to be confirmed)
10 days
On-site duration · fieldwork, studio, reviews, presentations
21
Graduate students · 7 per institution
9
Faculty · 3 per partner institution
3
Online preparatory seminars before arrival
Students are distributed equally across partner institutions — 7 from Politecnico di Torino, 7 from Istanbul-based institutions (AURA Istanbul and Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University), and 7 from UBT College Kosovo. Faculty accompany and tutor their groups and facilitate inter-institutional dynamics central to the model.
Selection: competitive application evaluated on academic portfolio, CV, and statement of purpose — assembling a cohort with complementary profiles and capacity for collaborative, strategically oriented work.
Preparatory timeline
-
till 15 July
Open call for applications
Graduate and master's students in architecture, urban design and planning, City and Regional Planning, and Architecture and Spatial Planning at Politecnico di Torino, AURA Istanbul, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, and UBT College Kosovo — via partner channels and workshop communications.
-
20 July 2026
Selection announcement
Results communicated to applicants following review by academic coordinators of the four partner institutions; travel and logistical arrangements initiated.
-
24 – 25 August 2026
Online preparatory seminars
Three seminars across two days. Kick-off Orientation on 31 August. Introduction to methodology, site, and team assignments.
-
29 August – 8 September 2026
Istanbul workshop
On-site programme in Kartal and across Istanbul.
Detailed programme · 24 Aug – 8 Sep 2026 (check updates)
Pre-workshop
On-site programme
Time
24 AugSun
25 AugMon
29 AugSat
30 AugSun
31 AugMon
1 SepTue
2 SepWed
3 SepThu
4 SepFri
5 SepSat
6 SepSun
7 SepMon
8 SepTue
Morning
S01 · Torino Team
Great Game intro
Structure, rules, and framework.
Online
S02 · AURA & MSFAU
Istanbul macro
Istanbul's historical and urban dynamics.
Online
Arrival
Delegations arrive · check-in.
Istanbul Airport · Hotel TBC
Field survey
Kartal gameboard field sites.
Kartal district
City orientation
Kadıköy to Hagia Sophia · city tour.
Istanbul · city route
Site visits
Three guided site groups.
Kartal · field sites
Galataport · Museum
Galataport and museum visits.
Galataport · Mimar Sinan Museum
Collective work
Morning studio at the Hangar.
Hangar Istanbul
Comparative lecture
NYC and Beijing compared.
Online · Hangar (hybrid)
Studio session
Full-day studio; guest TBC.
Hangar Istanbul
Hybrid lecture
Hybrid lecture · speaker TBC.
AURA Istanbul · Online
Half-day studio
Morning studio; team presentation.
Hangar Istanbul
Morning studio
Studio before public review.
Hangar Istanbul
Final studio
Final design and exhibition install.
Hangar Istanbul
Evening
S03 · Kosovo Team
Critical perspectives
Perspectives on practice.
Online
Studio roundtable
Initial design; team roundtables.
Hangar Istanbul
◉ LIVE · Hybrid
Kick-off
Briefing on the previous day's Kartal visit; online guest lectures; team introductions; collective reflection.
AURA Istanbul · Beşiktaş · Online
Group work
Afternoon studio at the Hangar.
Hangar Istanbul
First roundtable
Team presentations; tutor feedback.
Hangar Istanbul
MSFAU session
Afternoon reflection at MSFAU.
Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University
Wild card moment
Local actor visit · TBC.
MSFAU · TBC
Client wild card
Client / actor visit · TBC.
Hangar Istanbul
Second roundtable
Team presentations; tutor feedback.
Hangar Istanbul
Wild card session
Wild card; collective session.
AURA Istanbul
Public review
Presentations and aperitivo.
Istituto Italiano di Cultura Istanbul
Final exhibition
Public exhibition.
Hangar Istanbul
Closing ceremony
With Mayor Yüksel and partners.
Hangar Istanbul
Closing dinner
Collective dinner · venue TBC.
Venue TBC
05 — Team
