Architecture Lecture Series by Nevzat Sayın

The Book “What Is To Be Done?” Inspiring the Lectures

The renowned architect Nevzat Sayın’s book “What Is To Be Done?”, published in collaboration with Kastamonu Entegre and Yapı Kredi Publications, now serves as the foundation for a four-week lecture series. These gatherings held on Mondays throughout November revisit the relationship between architectural education and the knowledge of making, guided by Sayın’s perspective. 

Turkey’s leading brand in the wood-based panel industry, Kastamonu Entegre continues to support the world of architecture through various projects. One of Turkey’s foremost architects, Nevzat Sayın meets a wide audience—from students to young architects, from architecture enthusiasts to emerging professionals—through a special lecture series held every Monday evening in November. The lectures will continue with new sessions on November 17 and 24. 

The path from the book "How To" to the lessons.

Drawing on his book “What Is To Be Done?” published this year with the support of Kastamonu Entegre and in collaboration with Yapı Kredi Publications, Nevzat Sayın invites participants to rethink the connection between architectural education and the knowledge of making. The transformation of the Silahtarağa Thermal Power Plant into a faculty of architecture and library, as recounted in the book, forms the starting point of these lectures. Thus, participants discover—through Sayın’s narration—that architecture is not limited to drawings; rather, construction knowledge, experience, and the production process must lie at the heart of education. 

Emphasizing that construction knowledge has been pushed into the background in architectural education and critique, Nevzat Sayın underlines the importance of these lectures with the following statement: “Computer-based studies, which dominate architecture schools with seemingly limitless possibilities, can distance knowledge from the object, turning projects into heaps of lines generated by numerical data.”

A final lecture in a landmark of modern architecture 

Following the first two sessions “Looking Inside” and “Transforming”, the third session will be held under the name of “The Story of 4-6” on Monday, November 17 at Yapı Kredi Culture and Arts Center. The final session, “Making the Book of Building”, will take place on Monday, November 24 at Kastamonu Entegre Headquarters—an important building in Turkish architectural history that bridges modernity and tradition as designed by Sedad Hakkı Eldem and Hayri Şensoy. 

Kastamonu Entegre’s headquarters in Altunizade stands among the significant works in Turkish architecture that unite modern and traditional elements. Sedad Hakkı Eldem’s typological façade language, the expansive skylight illuminating the inner courtyard, the semi-hexagonal bay windows on the façades, and the water feature enriching the design approach make the building one of the distinctive examples of contemporary architecture. Hosting the final lecture at Kastamonu Entegre Headquarters highlights the bond that architectural production establishes with thought, space, and heritage.