Büşra KOÇAK: In fact, I would like to consider and design residential buildings solely with steel. Designing residential buildings with steel load bearing members would be my preference. I always wanted to write a thesis on flexible architecture, and show the flexibility of steel through its use in residential buildings. I would like to form spaces which can be altered and transformed as per its function in time instead of making people live in standard templates and do this through this option of steel. I would like to realize that especially in residential buildings.
Berk ARİNÇ: I am currently working towards a project management graduate degree in ITU and getting to the thesis stage. Aside from the architecture, I feel pleasure in taking a role in execution, seeing my design turn to reality and being there in the whole process. In execution, the process starts with the investor; we are living in an impatient climate, what we call as “Mediterranean Climate”, and we have a structure execution system of “Mediterranean Climate” type. We are very different from the American system. Americans plan a design phase of one or maybe two years before the execution of a project. After the completion of design, they minimize the execution phase. However, we try to make it up along the course. Grant the permit, do the design later; is this logical? We also try to postpone this process as much as possible. Investor has to be convinced beforehand in order to have the design in the most convenient stage for execution, for the teams to execute without difficulty and avoid rework. It has to be told clearly that the time not granted today would return as cost in the future. There are research and development studies and articles on this subject, additional costs stem from the design phase in 80% of the cases. This is a huge ratio.