Dr. Meral Ekincioglu

Welcome to my page,

Trained as an architect, I am a scholar with a Ph.D. degree and my scholarly endeavor is based on problem-centered research in architecture. More specifically, I am a scholar in postwar architecture history and the subjects of my current academic study are politics of gender, multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion in my expertise field. In this respect, I conducted my advanced academic research project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, History, Theory and Criticism of Architecture Program for two years (1) after my Ph.D. degree in Architecture at Istanbul Technical University. My scholarly project brings into focus a critical insight into the politics of gender in institutional policies, academia, the profession, education, history and history-writing, and examines cross-cultural relations and transnational (design) practice in postwar architecture. Following my productive research process at MIT, I am currently developing the manuscript for my book, and conducting my new research project to “unfold” hidden and silent voices of underrepresented communities in multicultural context of (the US) architecture (history) that is supported by participation of MIT, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc.

Based on my advanced academic and archival research during my studies at the MIT, HTC Program, I presented my scholarly project and findings at the MIT-HTC Program, the International Women in Architecture Symposium at Virginia Tech., the MIT-Women’s and Gender Studies Program Intellectual Forum Series, the Women’s Studies Speaker Series organized by Center for the Study of Women and Society at the CUNY-Graduate Center, Harvard University for a talk series organized by New England Turkish Student Association, the 71st Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) - Annual International Conference where I was awarded by a SAH Fellowship. In addition, I was a panelist at “A Convergence at the Confluence of Power, Identity and Design” organized by the Women in Design Group at the Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, and at “A Square and Half - The Colors, A Tribute by Ivaana Muse” at the MIT Museum. In my expertise field, I am an author and a contributor of two international publication projects on women architects (forthcoming 2021).

In order to stimulate critical awareness of gender and women in architecture (in its profession, practice, education, history and historiography), and to give an impetus for new collections in those fields, I created and developed the collection, "Women in Modern and Contemporary Territories of Turkish Architecture" at MIT. Conducted for Archnet, online source of MIT and named one of the top 20 architecture websites by the Global Grid in 2016 (2), this is the first project on documenting the leading figures of the first and the second generations of Turkish women architects as a digital collection, open to international scholars and based on my scholarly research, literature review and texts. In addition, I am a certificate holder by Consortium for Graduate Studies, Gender, Culture, Women & Sexuality (GCWS) at MIT.

In light of my expertise field in architecture, my aim is also to contribute to heated discussions on full citizenship in today’s academia and society through architecture history, theory and criticism. On this basis, I was one of the speakers at WikiConference North America (MIT, 2019), and will speak at the 51st NeMLA Annual Convention organized by Boston University. I am also a contributor of the first exhibition on Citizen Tales Commons at the Emerson College-New Urban Art Gallery.

As a special Turkish fellow, I began my Ph.D. dissertation research at the Harvard University, Aga Khan History of Art and Architecture, Ph.D. Program in 2006, conducted it for 10 months, and continued this advanced academic research at the Columbia University, Graduate School of Planning and Preservation, Ph.D. Program as a research scholar (2008-2009). Based on my dissertation research at Harvard and Columbia universities, I completed the first Ph.D. dissertation on the practice history of Tekeli-Sisa Architecture Partnership (1954, Istanbul-present) and obtained my Ph.D. degree in Architecture at Istanbul Technical University in 2011. My secondary academic fields are sociology, theory and the modern history of the architecture profession, modernization of architectural design practice, relationship between the design architect and the client, and their historical thresholds in postwar Turkey.

While conducting my Ph.D. dissertation research at Harvard and Columbia universities, I presented my two academic papers at "Media in Transition 5 and 6", two international conferences organized by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Comparative Media Studies in 2007 and in 2009. With my editorial background and scholarly formation, my academic papers discuss the historical progress of professional architectural journalism, its significant editors, their journalistic criticism, recent development in architectural media in Turkey and their impact on the built-environment in the country.

With my editorial and architectural background on modern Turkey along with my scholarly perspective, I also conducted an extensive project on "Arkitekt", the leading professional architectural journal published in modern Turkey (1931-1981) for Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals at Columbia University while conducting my Ph.D. dissertation research at that academic institution in 2008-2009. Entering 50 years of architectural data (1931-1981) from modern and contemporary Turkish architecture, editors, architectural historians, critics, practitioners, etc., my contribution to Avery Index to Architectural Periodical was to support scholarly research on alternative modern and contemporary architectural examples in relation to my native country and its unique architectural culture in between East and West.

In order to bring into focus the creative potential of diversity and multicultural perspective as related to immigrant architects and underrepresented communities in the U.S. architecture, I conducted two short documentary film projects in 2017 and in 2016. My most recent short documentary film project, “Unfolding the Turkish Chapter at Massachusetts Institute of Technology-Architecture” aims to indicate the lack of undocumented backgrounds of women and gender in the U.S. architecture education. My second short documentary film project elaborates the educational background and professional career of the first woman architect from the Princeton University, School of Architecture. Following my advanced academic research project at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, my descriptive text on this short documentary film was published by Architexx. This short documentary film was the top video among the video collection of Archnet, online source of Massachusetts Institute of Technology in June 2016. In addition, I conducted a short architectural film project on the MIT, non-denominational Chapel, a significant iconic architectural design by Eero Saarinen, a Finnish-American architect in postwar U.S. in the MIT campus’ postwar architecture. All of those short documentary and architectural films are based on my scholarly and archival research, text and were aired in the U.S. in 2016 and in 2017.*

I received my Bachelor and Master degrees in Architecture from Istanbul Technical University. Following my education, I maintained productive dialogs and collaboration with Turkish academia by promoting critical discussion platforms to re-evaluate existing curriculums and the academic agenda. In relation to my master thesis (1996), I took the first step with Prof. Dr. Safak Ural at the Department of Philosophy at Istanbul University to organize “Architecture and Philosophy I”, the first national symposium which offered a rich academic platform to discuss the influence of philosophy on architecture through the extensive participation of philosophers, professors and practitioners in Turkish architecture. Bringing together professors, scholars, critics in Turkish architecture and in the field of philosophy, I served as its organizing committee member and delivered my published presentation (2001). Considering its success and positive feedbacks, this first academic event turned into a national symposium series organized under various philosophy-architecture themes. Prior to Istanbul Technical University, I pursued my education at the Erenkoy Girls High School founded in Istanbul in 1911 and one of the oldest surviving girls' high schools in modern Turkey.

In Istanbul, I taught advanced architectural design studio and various courses related to the history, theory and discourse of 20th century modern and contemporary architecture and its practice at the Yeditepe University, Department of Architecture. Established in 1996, Yeditepe University is one of the well-known foundation universities in the Republic of Turkey. All courses by the Department of Architecture are offered in English and the university is a signatory to Student Exchange Protocols with over 30 universities in the United States.

In the end of the 1990s, I began to work as the architectural journalist and the editor in Istanbul. As the co-founding editor and the foreign affairs representative at the leading architectural journals of Turkey (Tasarim in 1996; Arredamento Mimarlik in 1999-2001; PORTFOLYO in 2002-2005), I established very nurturing and communicative dialog with academia, professionals and design practitioners in Turkish and world/global architecture. Having numerous published articles, interviews, translations, my 19 editorial monographs are available at leading academic libraries in the U.S., such as at the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library of Columbia University, the Frances Loeb Library of the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and the Rotch Library of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Architecture & Planning. As the general publishing coordinator and architectural journalist, I always put my readers’ learning needs at the forefront of my investigative journalism through my highly informed research and writings. As a professional practitioner in architecture, I worked for various architectural offices and firms in Istanbul in the 1990s. In 1996, my graduation project was nominated as the award candidate at the Fifth National Architecture Awards organized by the Chamber of Architects of Turkey, and I partipated in the Fifth National Architecture Awards Exhibition with this project.

I am the member of the Middle East Studies Association (2017-present), Society of Architectural Historian (2017-present), the friend of Boston Society of Architects (2015-present), Society of American Archivist (2018-present), the honorary member of the World Architecture Community (2008-present) and the Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA, 2019-present). Based on my scholarly studies, my biographical information has taken its place at the Biographical Database of the International Archive of Women in Architecture, a joint program of the College of Architecture and Urban Studies and the University Libraries at Virginia Tech.

In addition to my scholarly studies and projects in architecture, my another mission is to support creative artistic, cultural events and inclusive approach in architecture, academia and society in various ways: I volunteered for the organization of KidsBuild! held at Boston Society of Architects space (2019), the 25th Harvard Arts First Festival (2017), the Common Boston Festival by Boston Society of Architects Foundation (2017), was a singer at the MIT’s Women Chorale (2006-2007), organized two piano recitals by Gulsin Onay (a world renowned Turkish woman virtuoso in Western classical music and the soloist of the Presidential Symphony in Ankara) at MIT and Harvard University (in collaboration with the MIT-Turkish Student Association and the Harvard-College-Turkish Student Association in 2015), have been playing and singing to support local artists in Cambridge-Boston, and for elders in collaboration with an organization in Boston, and took a part of Mayor Marty Walsh's campaing to support his agenda on equity and inclusion for the social and cultural progress of Boston. I am a member at the MIT’s Women League (2014-present) and Harvard Neighbors (2006-2007; 2017-present).

As a contributor of SAHARA, a digital image archive developed by the Society of Architectural Historians in collaboration with Artstor and funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, architectural photography is my deep-interest. In addition, I am a fanatic appreciator of some electro/acoustic guitarists and bass players (in jazz, jazz-rock/fusion and progressive rock, like Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller, Eberhard Weber, Dave Holland, Mike Stern, Kurt Rosenwinkel, John McLaughlin and Robert Fripp), and singing with my acoustic guitar (lead vocal in alternative and folk rock as the rhythm guitar) is one of the deepest ways for me to connect with my inner-self and establish a creative dialog with people.

For any inquiries, please contact me directly.
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Thank you for reading my page;

Meral Ekincioglu, Ph.D.

meral@meralekincioglu.com

meralekincioglu.blogspot.com

(1) My advanced academic research project at the MIT, HTC Program examines the postwar history of Turkish women architects with my specific research problem and is also the first scholarly and advanced study on the early women architects from the Princeton University, School of Architecture (Class of 1970 and 1971). I met those women architects in person, Professor Robert Geddes, the first dean of the Princeton University, School of Architecture and discussed my findings. As those women architects expressed, there is no scholarly study on their career hi/story, and Professor Robert Geddes, the pioneering professor at the SoA to admit early women architecture students told that he does not know any research study on the early women architects from the Princeton University, SoA. (The sound record of my conversation with him is in my personal archive). Following this, I visited Beverly Willis, the founder of Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation (2016) and shared my findings on those women architects. As she expressed, she does not know any research or publication on early women architects from the Princeton University, SoA. When I contacted Professor Mary McLeod, a feminist architecture historian at Columbia University, GSAPP, all architecture historians at the Princeton University, School of Architecture, Monica Ponce de Leon, the woman dean of the Princeton University, School of Architecture, President of Princeton University by e-mail and asked for their scholarly, architectural views or any comments / contributions to my advanced academic research on the early women architects from that school (2015-2016), none of them shared scholarly or architectural research, publication, comments or contributions to this research subject. In addition, I could not reach a study on this subject at the library of the Princeton University, School of Architecture. (2014-2016). In the final of my advanced academic research at the MIT-HTC, I shared my detailed research file to the Head of Program and Rafael Reif, the MIT President, My all presentations as a speaker and an invited speaker (2016-2018) are based on my advanced academic research project at the MIT, HTC Program (2014-2016). The academic sponsor of my advanced academic research project is the MIT, HTC Program and "all rights reserved".

(2) For MIT-Archnet Award, see: https://akpia.mit.edu/blog/archnet-named-one-top-20-architecture-sites-2016, accessed on 1.5.2019

* These short documentary and architectural films were produced by Turkish American TV under the direction of Dr. Hurriyet Aydin Ok. In 2007, Turkish American TV Television received the Community Service Award from the Turkish-American Association of Washington, DC (ATA-DC) and was also awarded by the Community Access Magic (CAM) Awards in the International Category from Prince George's County Community TV (PGCTV)in 2007 and 2008. The most recently, TATV received "Excellence in Media" Award at the 32. Annual National Turkish American Convention organized by the Assembly of Turkish American Association (ATAA), the Federation of Turkish American Associations (FTAA) and Turkish American Cultural Centers (TACC) in 2012.

Autumn Leaveste of Technology.

Our music rehearsal at the MIT Chapel to support local artists in Boston/Cambridge. (Piano: Alex Lascelles, research assistant, MIT).

Piano:Alex Lascelles, research assistant, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Have I Told You Lately that I Love YouI Love You

Piano:Alex Lascelles, research assistant, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Our music practice at the MIT Chapel.I Love You

Piano:Alex Lascelles, research assistant, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Hit the Road Jack

iano:Alex Lascelles, research assistant, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Our music performance to support local artists organized by Zoe Arguello. Love You

Piano:Alex Lascelles, research a

My music performance for elders in collaboration with Friendshipwork, one of four winners to receive "the In Good Company: 2018 Optimal Aging Challenge Award", created by a collaboration of the MIT AgeLab, Massachusetts Governor Baker's Council to Address Aging in Massachusetts, Benchmark Senior Living, and GE Healthcare , Boston.

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Fly Me to the Moon

iano:Alex Lascelles, research assistant, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Paintings by local artists of Boston, Beacon House.I Love You

Piano:Alex Lascelles, research assistant, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Linda Marks during her performance, Beacon House.I Love You

Piano:Alex Lascelles, research assistant, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

My introduction before my music performance, Beacon House.I Love You

Piano:Alex Lascelles, research assistant, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In February 2019, I and Alex Lascelles, research assistant at MIT (in cognitive/computational neuroscience field) came together to play and sing in order to support local artists in Boston, another artistic organization by Zoe. As an astrophysicist-turned-neuroscientist, Alex has been pursuing a career with his broad interest including brain augmentation, memory, plasticity, the interactions between how we see and hear, and drawing is his deep-interest (3). Funk, blues and jazz are among his favorite music genres, and he enjoys playing piano with his contemporary style. It was a great time to practice in the spiritual and well-designed acoustic space of the MIT Chapel together before our performance for the Coffee Hour at JP Licks (4). This event was another creative experience for us to bring music and paintings into the social life in the city: Like architecture, music is also a social construction to unite people from all over the world!

(1) For Linda Marks, please see, https://www.lindamarksmusic.com/about.html, accessed on 3.20.2019
(2) For Zoe Arguello, please see, http://www.thehiddenartgallery.com, accessed on 3.20.2019
(3)For Alex Lascelles, please see, https://www.alexlascelles.com, accessed on 3.20.2019.
(4) For an essay on the MIT Chapel acoustics;
please see, https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00004-010-0027-3.pdf, accessed on 3.20.2019.

My acoustic music performance, Beacon House.I Love You

Piano:Al

Music is one of the most powerful creative and social glues to connect people, cooperate, care for each other, and support our community in a harmonious way. In this respect, I really enjoy sharing music with other musicians, artists and various groups of people in the society, such as elders, etc. When Zoe (Arguello) kindly invited me to play and sing with other musicians to support local artists in Cambridge and Boston, I never hesitated to accept this idea!.

In March 2019, Linda Marks, singer-songwriter and a graduate of Yale University-Music Department, I, Zoe and other participants gathered in order to celebrate “women’s month” by sharing our music, songs and poems at Beacon House, a historic building in a charming historic neighborhood of Boston. As a feminist scholar (in postwar architecture history), it was a pleasure for me to join that fabulous organization with my acoustic guitar and vocal. While celebrating “women’s month”, we played and sang to support local artists’ paintings and to share a friendly and artistic time with elders as well. Among paintings by creative artists of the city and flowers, it was a really inspiring and intimate evening for all of us: Following the first part of music and poetry, we practiced meditation together, and then, talked on art, music while having our coffee with delicious cakes and snacks. During the evening, Linda performed her own songs on the piano, and I sang some well-known movie songs from the 1930s, jazz standards and popular songs with my acoustic guitar.

Linda is one of the significant women figures in music, art and “heart-centered body psychotherapy” in the area (1): Having her degree in Music with honors from Yale University, where she co-founded “Something Extra”, Yale’s third a Capella singing group, she loves to help people for their healing through her “Power of Voice” workshop and coaching, and has been organizing “the Music Salon” to bring people together and build community through music and art. Working in the mind-body medicine field, she served as a heart-centered body psychotherapist and life coach for more than 30 years, and is the author of two books: Living With Vision (Knowledge Systems, 1988), and Healing the War Between The Genders (Heart Power Press, 2004).

Zoe, the organizer of that event is an impressionist painter, loves to paint nature, landscape, dream-like imagery, has been operating the Hidden Art Gallery in Boston, and organizing creative artistic events to support local artists in the location and to build community (2). Graduating from UMass Boston with BA in English literature, she has a graphic design certificate from Mass College of Art where she studied art history and painting. Founded in 2011, the Hidden Art Gallery exhibits impressionist, abstract and representational works by artists of Boston; and most paintings in the gallery portray the city’s leading landmarks and most visited places.

Fly Me to the Moon

Fly Me to the MoonFly Me to the MoonFly Me to the MoonFly Me to the Moo

celles, research assistant, Massachusetts Institute of Tegy.

Zoe Arguello, painter and audience at Beacon House.

I Love You

Piano:Alex Lascelles, research assistant, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Organized by John Kernochan, a music weekend with a group of music lovers.