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Politecnico di Torino · AURA İstanbul · MSFAU · UBT Kosovo · Kartal Municipality 2026 / EDITION 01
KARTAL ◆ ISTANBUL ◆ URBAN GAMEBOARD ◆ STAKEHOLDERS ◆ NEGOTIATION ◆ DESIGN AGENCY ◆ URBAN TRANSFORMATION ◆ ARCHITECTURE THEORY ◆ SPATIAL PRACTICE ◆ PEDAGOGY ◆

The Great Game Istanbulkartal*

A joint initiative of Politecnico di Torino (Italy), AURA Istanbul, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, and UBT College Kosovo — bringing graduate students in architecture, urban design and planning, City and Regional Planning, and Architecture and Spatial Planning to apply The Great Game to a live urban case study in Kartal, Istanbul, with the support of Kartal Municipality.

Workshop language: English
On site29 Aug – 8 Sep 2026
Cohort21 students
9 faculty
GameboardKartal District
Istanbul
Apply by15 July
THEGREATGAME-ISTANBUL.COM DESIGN SUMMER SCHOOL · EDITION 01 · 2026
01 — AboutWhy this workshop

International visibility, strategic foresight, professional development.

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 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.

01 · The Great Game

Hands-on training in negotiation, strategy, and design agency on a live urban gameboard.

02 · International network

Intensive collaboration across Politecnico di Torino, AURA Istanbul, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, and UBT College Kosovo.

03 · Professional exposure

Direct contact with practitioners, stakeholders, and institutions shaping Istanbul and Kartal.

02 — FrameworkThe Great Game

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.

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.

Tested over five years on gameboards in Detroit, Stazzema, Kiruna, and Belgrade; a finalist for the EAAE Pedagogy Awards 2024.

Tested over

5 years

Gameboards

Detroit · Stazzema
Kiruna · Belgrade

Recognition

EAAE Pedagogy Awards 2024 — Finalist

Publication

Federighi & Bruno, AADR, 2022

THE GREAT GAME | ISTANBUL · 2026   2 / 11
03 — Site contextKartal, 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.

Kartal district gameboard map, Istanbul
03 — PartnersInstitutional partners
Italy · POLITO
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
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 · MSFAU
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
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 · Kartal
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.

THE GREAT GAME | ISTANBUL · 2026   3 / 11
04 — ProgrammeStructure & calendar (to be confirmed)

A ten-day on-site workshop, preceded by three online preparatory seminars — organised around fieldwork, studio production, and reviews.

10Days on siteFieldwork, studio, reviews, presentations
21Graduate students7 per partner institution
9Faculty members3 per partner institution
3Online seminarsPreparatory sessions before arrival
Preparatory timeline
TILL 15 JUL
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 JUL 2026
Selection announcement

Results communicated to applicants following review by academic coordinators of the four partner institutions; travel and logistical arrangements initiated.

24–25 AUG 2026
Online preparatory seminars

Three seminars across two days. Kick-off Orientation on 31 August. Introduction to methodology, site, and team assignments.

29 AUG – 8 SEP
Istanbul workshop

On-site programme in Kartal and across Istanbul.

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. Selection: competitive application evaluated on academic portfolio, CV, and statement of purpose.

THE GREAT GAME | ISTANBUL · 2026   4 / 11
05 — TeamFaculty members
9 Faculty 3 per partner institution
4 Partners Torino · Istanbul · Kosovo
3 Online seminars Preparatory sessions before arrival

Faculty accompany and tutor their student groups through the preparatory seminars and on-site programme — facilitating the inter-institutional collaboration central to The Great Game.

Italy

Politecnico di Torino — DAD

Alp Arda

Alp ARDA

Main coordinator · PhD Candidate · Architect · Politecnico di Torino (DAD) · Tsinghua University

Architect and PhD candidate in Architecture, History, and Project at Politecnico di Torino, pursuing a dual degree with Tsinghua University under Prof. Michele Bonino and Prof. Lai Yuan 来源. PhD Representative in the DASP programme and Junior Fellow at the China Room. Teaching Fellow for Architectural Design Theory A. Research focuses on the spatial decision infrastructure of Istanbul through urban transformation projects.

Michele Bonino

Michele Bonino

Full Professor · Architect · Director of Department of Architecture and Design (DAD) · Politecnico di Torino

Registered Architect with a PhD in History of Architecture and Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at Politecnico di Torino, Head of the Department of Architecture and Design (DAD). Senior Research Fellow at the China Room and Honorary Professor at Harbin Institute of Technology. Principal architect of the Shougang Visitor Centre for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. Invited to the Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2004, 2010, 2021, and 2025.

Valeria Federighi

Valeria Federighi

Adjunct Professor · Architect · Department of Architecture and Design (DAD)

Valeria Federighi (1986) is an architect and adjunct professor at the Politecnico di Torino. Together with Walter Patella, she is the co-founder of the design-build studio Wworks. She is a member of the China Room research group, of the Invisible Cities research group, and co-founder and former editor of the journal Ardeth (Architectural Design Theory). She is the author of The Informal Stance: Representations of Architectural Design and Informal Settlements (2018, ORO) and co-editor of Eyes of the City: Architecture and Urban Space after Artificial Intelligence (2021, Hatje Cantz) and South-East Europe:4Cities (2026).

Edoardo Bruno

Edoardo BRUNO

Researcher · Architect · Department of Architecture and Design (DAD)

Edoardo Bruno is an architect and researcher at the Department of Architecture and Design (DAD) of Politecnico di Torino. He is a member of China Room, an interdisciplinary research lab investigating contemporary Chinese architecture and urbanization processes. Working across architectural design, curatorial practice, and field research, he has worked as principal architect and design advisor on international projects between Italy and China and has contributed to curatorial teams for the Shenzhen and Venice Biennales. His recent monographs include Raggiungere il mare (DeriveApprodi, 2024), Progetto e Strategia (DeriveApprodi, 2024), and Prosperous Lishui (ORO Editions, 2023).

Turkey

AURA Istanbul

Turkey

Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University

Kosovo

UBT College Kosovo

Yılmaz Değer

Yılmaz Değer

Founding Member

Architect and founding member of AURA Istanbul. Graduated from Istanbul State Fine Arts Academy in 1981. Worked in offices in Zurich and Paris before founding LOTUS Architectural in Istanbul in 1987. Co-founded DEGER Design Architektur GmbH in Switzerland in 1997 and has led DEĞER Architectural Design since 2015. Lecturer at Yıldız Technical University since 2009 and at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University since 2013.

Güldehan Atay

Güldehan Atay

Professor

Architect and academic at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, where she completed her Bachelor, Master's, and PhD in the Building Design and Theory programme. Visiting researcher at the University of Genoa during doctoral studies. Coordinator of the Building Design and Theory Graduate Programme, with over twenty years of teaching across undergraduate design studios and postgraduate courses. Her research focuses on housing, participatory design, urban resilience, cultural heritage, and post-disaster urban recovery.

Lendi Osmani

Lendi Osmani

Architect · Guest Lecturer

Architect working between Kosovo and Italy, with a master's degree from Politecnico di Torino. His thesis on post-conflict educational architecture in Kharkiv was awarded first prize in an international competition to rebuild a war-damaged school in Ukraine, with further first prizes in Lecce and Ravenna. His practice bridges architectural design, urban regeneration, and sustainability. Guest lecturer and mentor at UBT College Kosovo, contributing to knowledge transfer across European institutions.

Sinan İzgi

Sinan İzgi

Founding Member

Architect and founding member of AURA Istanbul. Graduated from Mimar Sinan University Faculty of Architecture in 1983; his student project Time and Space in Cumalıkızık received the Aga Khan Award. Founded İzgi Architectural Design in 1986 while pursuing a PhD in Urban Design. Has since led nearly four hundred projects across a wide range of scales and programmes. Teaches design studios at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University since 2008, with a focus on ecology, sustainable design, and planning.

Kumru Çılgın

Kumru Çılgın

Assistant Professor

Urban planner and Assistant Professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University. Holds an MSc from MSFAU and a PhD from Istanbul Technical University on neighbourhood planning within urban transformation processes. Postdoctoral researcher at DIST, Politecnico di Torino (2024–2025). Her research spans planning theory, urban policy, participatory planning, local democracy, urban citizenship, migration–space relations, and rural studies.

Shqiprim Ahmeti

Shqiprim Ahmeti

Head of Institute

Head of the Institute for Urban Studies and Spatial Planning at UBT College Kosovo, where he teaches within the Faculty of Architecture and Spatial Planning. His research spans urban history, planning theory, urban transport, the socio-political dynamics of urban development, and human-scale planning and design. Recent work includes critical assessments of planning processes in Kosovo (2000–2025) and structured historiographies of Prishtina's urban development, pursued through international collaborations.

Seda Altan

Seda Altan

Director

Director of AURA Istanbul, overseeing academic programmes, public initiatives, interdisciplinary collaborations, and institutional partnerships. Urban planner trained at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University and the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. Her work focuses on fostering critical dialogue around architecture, urbanism, and the built environment through educational, cultural, and research-based initiatives, with a particular emphasis on Istanbul's cultural heritage and the development of emerging architecture and planning professionals.

Dilvin Hazal Akkaya Usman

Dilvin Hazal Akkaya Usman

Lecturer

Architect and lecturer at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, where she completed her Bachelor, Master's, and PhD. Her M.Arch thesis examined the sofa in Sedad Hakkı Eldem's housing architecture; her doctoral dissertation analysed high-rise housing blocks built in Istanbul after 2000 through urban space and block plan. Her research investigates high-rise housing typologies and their integration into the urban fabric, focusing on density, diversity, and urbanity through typo-morphological analysis.

Binak Beqaj

Binak Beqaj

Dean · Faculty of Architecture and Spatial Planning

Dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Spatial Planning and Professor at UBT College Kosovo. His work focuses on urban planning, public space, and housing. Has authored numerous architectural design projects and supervised construction works across Kosovo, including social housing programmes for the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning. Served on international juries for urban master plan competitions in Prishtina. Publishes on urbanisation, public space regeneration, and the architecture–engineering interface.

THE GREAT GAME | ISTANBUL · 2026   5 / 11
04 — ProgrammeDay by day (to be confirmed)

The full programme calendar, from the online preparatory seminars through to the final closing ceremony.

REMOTE://PRE-WORKSHOP.GREATGAME   ◉ LIVE   ◆   3 SESSIONS   ◆   2 DAYS   ◆
DATE
LOCATION / MODE
PROGRAMME
SUN24 AUG2026
Online
Lead: Torino Team
Mod: Alp Arda
Seminar 1 — Introduction to The Great Game
Structure, rules, operational logic, and organisational framework. Group division, actor introductions, pool-based group making. (20 min + 10 min Q&A)
MON25 AUG2026
Online
Lead: AURA & MSFAU (S2);
UBT Kosovo (S3)
Seminar 2 — Istanbul at macro scale
Historical, social, and economic dynamics; ongoing urban transformation and the city's historical background. (20 min + 5 min Q&A)
Seminar 3 — Critical perspectives
Professional viewpoints on contemporary architecture and urban design practice. (10 min + 5 min Q&A)
ON SITE   ◆   ISTANBUL   ◆   29 AUG – 8 SEP 2026   ◆   10 DAYS   ◆
DATE
LOCATION / MODE
MORNING / AFTERNOON / EVENING
SAT29 AUG2026
On-site
Airport(s) → Hotel
Coord: Alp Arda
Arrival in Istanbul
Arrival of Torino and Kosovo delegations. Hotel check-in.
SUN30 AUG2026
On-site
Hotel → Kartal
→ Hangar studio
Field survey · Kartal
Field survey and site exploration in Kartal. Lunch at Kartal Çarşı.
Studio begins — Hangar
First roundtable discussions; commencement of initial design work.
MON31 AUG2026
Hybrid
City tour →
AURA İstanbul
(Beşiktaş)
Macro-scale city orientation
Hotel → Kadıköy → Kabataş → Eminönü → Galata Bridge → Hagia Sophia. Lunch at Sultanahmet.
Kick-off · 17:00 — AURA İstanbul
Briefing on the previous day's Kartal visit + 2 online guest lectures (20+20 min) + Q&A + team introductions + closing reflection.
TUE01 SEP2026
On-site
Kartal sites
(3 groups) →
Hangar
Independent site visits + studio
Three guided groups across Kartal.
Roundtable 1 · 17:30
5-min presentation per student team, with feedback from the teaching team.
WED02 SEP2026
On-site
Galataport →
Mimar Sinan
Museum → MSFAU
Galataport + Mimar Sinan Museum visit
Visit to Galataport (recently completed waterfront transformation) and the Mimar Sinan Museum. Lunch at MSFAU.
MSFAU session + Wild card
Collective working and reflection at MSFAU. Late afternoon: local actor visit (~1 hour).
Continues on next page.THE GREAT GAME | ISTANBUL · 2026   6 / 11
04 — ProgrammeDay by day · continued (to be confirmed)
DATE
LOCATION / MODE
MORNING / AFTERNOON / EVENING
THU03 SEP2026
Hybrid
Hangar
(studio +
online lecture)
Morning — collective work at the Hangar
Live lecture · 10:00
Comparative perspectives on urban transformation. (~35 min + 15 min dialogue)
Wild card · afternoon
Client / actor visit; working session continues until 17:00.
Roundtable 2 · 17:00
5-min presentation per student team, with feedback from the teaching team.
FRI04 SEP2026
On-site
Hangar İstanbul
Studio session — full day
Working session at the Hangar.
SAT05 SEP2026
Hybrid
Hotel →
AURA İstanbul
Hybrid lecture — late morning
Topic and speaker TBC.
Wild card — midday
Wild card actor moment.
Working session — afternoon
Collective working session and presentation moment.
SUN06 SEP2026
On-site
Hangar
Half-day studio — morning
Working session at the Hangar. 12:30 collective presentation.
Afternoon
Free time / preparation for Monday's public review.
MON07 SEP2026
On-site
Hangar (morning)
→ Istituto
Italiano di
Cultura İstanbul
Morning — working session at the Hangar
14:30 — departure to Istituto Italiano di Cultura
~16:00 — Public review
Opening speech → coordination intro → 5-min team presentations → closing discussion → aperitivo.
~19:00 — return to hotel
TUE08 SEP2026EXHIBITION
+ CLOSING
On-site
Hangar
08:00–14:00 — final studio session at the Hangar
14:00–15:00 — printing and installation of exhibition
15:00–17:30 — final presentations and public exhibition
~17:30 — closing ceremony
With Mayor Gökhan Yüksel and all participants.
19:00 — closing dinner
THE GREAT GAME | ISTANBUL · 2026   7 / 11
06 — ApplyHow to apply

Candidates apply through the digital form for their home institution. Open to 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.

Credits: Politecnico di Torino students receive 3 CFU upon successful completion. All participants receive a joint certificate from Politecnico di Torino, AURA Istanbul, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, and UBT College Kosovo. Travel: Politecnico di Torino students will receive €300 travel reimbursement.

Deadline: till 15 July.

For questions about applications, the programme, or logistics, contact workshop coordination.

  1. PortfolioPortfolio of academic and design work in PDF format (max 10 MB)
  2. Motivation letterNo more than one A4 page — interest in the workshop and expected contribution
  3. Student certificateOfficial documentation confirming current enrolment as graduate or master's student at your home institution, with exam votes

Application forms

Eligibility, accommodation, travel, and other institution-specific details are set out in each form — please refer to the application form that corresponds to your home institution. Apply online at thegreatgame-istanbul.com.

Issues with the form? Send your portfolio, motivation letter, and student certificate directly by email to thegreatgame.istanbul@gmail.com.

THE GREAT GAME | ISTANBUL · 2026   8 / 11
ReferencesFurther reading

"The [Detroit] Great Game presents a captivating and timely pedagogical experiment and offers a much-needed rethinking of the playful dimension of architectural education. Federighi and Bruno offer a fresh pragmatist perspective on the reality of project-making, tracing the contingencies, negotiations, documentary exchange, promises, and contextual complexities of architecture in the making. Vividly written and filled with insightful examples and innovative graphics, it is a must-read for every student, academic and practitioner in Architecture."

— ALBENA YANEVA · UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER

"The [Detroit] Great Game demonstrates that no architectural project is autonomous from the world, and that all projects catapult their players into an unpredictable future. It follows that all projects are susceptible to the vicissitudes of contingent encounters and unexpected roadblocks. Such is the great game of designing worlds on fields of immanence where documents and contracts hold equal weight to material objects. Groping experimentation and experience come first, know-how and knowledge afterwards. Enjoy this great game! Play it seriously!"

— HÉLÈNE FRICHOT · UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE
References

Book · 2022

Federighi, V. & Bruno, E. (2022). The Detroit Great Game: Explorations around architectural design and its agency. Baunach: AADR. ISBN 978-3-88778-621-2

Video

The Great Game — video presentation.
youtube.com/watch?v=iLyEYrEFGoM

Award · 2024

EAAE Pedagogy Awards 2024 — Finalist.
eaae.eu/news-and-events/events/finalists-eaae-pedagogy-awards-2024-2

THE GREAT GAME | ISTANBUL · 2026   9 / 11
PosterWorkshop visual
The Great Game | Istanbul — workshop poster, 2026

Visual design · kankan看看

THE GREAT GAME | ISTANBUL · 2026   10 / 11
The Great Game | Istanbul · Design Summer School · Edition 01 · 2026
APPLY BY
15 JULY
2026

to be part of the inaugural Istanbul edition.

QR code — thegreatgame-istanbul.com
THEGREATGAME-ISTANBUL.COM
THEGREATGAME.ISTANBUL@GMAIL.COM

Scan for workshop info & application

WORKSHOP LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
A JOINT INITIATIVE OF
POLITECNICO DI TORINO · AURA ISTANBUL · MIMAR SINAN FINE ARTS UNIVERSITY · UBT COLLEGE KOSOVO

HOSTED BY
KARTAL MUNICIPALITY
POLITECNICO ◆ AURA ◆ MSFAU ◆ UBT ◆ KARTAL ◆ 2026 THE GREAT GAME | ISTANBUL · 2026   11 / 11