Esra Akcan was educated as an architect in Turkey and received her PhD from Columbia University in New York. Her research on modern and contemporary architecture and urbanism foregrounds the intertwined histories of Europe and West Asia. Her work has been supported by the Wissenschaftskolleg in Berlin, Graham Foundation, Clark Institute, Getty Research Institute, Canadian Center for Architecture, Mellon Foundation, German Academic Exchange Service, and Kress Foundation, among others. She has authored more than a hundred articles in scholarly books and professional journals in multiple languages. Her books include Architecture in Translation: Germany, Turkey, and the Modern House (Duke, 2012), which offers a new way to understand the global movement of architecture by extending the notion of translation beyond language to visual fields, and Turkey: Modern Architectures in History (Chicago, 2012; coauthor Sibel Bozdoğan). Akcan has also exhibited her work at venues including the Istanbul Design Biennale and the Istanbul Architecture Festival.
At the Academy, Akcan explored the context of discriminatory housing regulations through her focus on the 1984/1987 Internationale Bauausstellung (IBA) in Berlin-Kreuzberg. Her project brings a fresh approach to architectural history both in terms of its concept—open architecture and the right to the city—and by means of her style, including extensive interviews and visual documentation. As the project “strolls” along various routes through Kreuzberg, it “stops” at architecturally significant locations. Throughout, Akcan analyses noncitizen rights in relation to the history of twentieth-century public housing, postmodernist and poststructuralist architectural debates, and the contradictions between international immigration laws and housing. Giving voice not only to architects and policymakers but also to residents, through both oral history and storytelling rather than sociology and ethnography, the project translates the emerging concept of “hospitality” in order to define different forms and terms of open architecture. At a time when Germany is taking in record numbers of migrants, Akcan will provide a longer-term consideration of how existing populations and their policies, the supply of housing, and noncitizens have interacted in the urban sphere.
Meet Esra Akcan
A short portrait filmed at the Hans Arnhold Center, introducing the work and ideas behind fellows’ projects in Berlin.
Upcoming events
Discover what’s coming up in the Academy’s public program this semester.
Past events
Lectures, readings, and conversations from the Academy’s public program.
Berlin Journal Articles
Essays, interviews, and creative work published in the Academy’s annual magazine.
Books
Books written by fellows of the Academy, many begun during a semester in Berlin.
Videos
Lectures, readings, and conversations filmed at the Hans Arnhold Center.
Open Architecture: Buildings That Die More Than Once in Berlin-Kreuzberg
Esra Akcan’s September 22, 2016 lecture at the American Academy defines “openness” as a foundational modern value albeit prone to contradictions, and open architecture as the translation of the ethics of hospitality into architecture. It particularly focuses on a single street corner in Berlin, at Checkpoint Charlie.
Fellow Spotlight: Esra Akcan
Architectural historian Esra Akcan’s project brings a fresh approach to architectural history both in terms of its concept—open architecture and the right to the city—and by means of her style, including extensive interviews and visual documentation.
Explore Past Fellows
Hakim Abderrezak
Marco Abel
David Abraham
