I am a senior lecturer (assoc. prof. dr.) in Architecture at Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland, UK. I have received BArch and MArch degrees at Middle East Technical University, and PhD degree at Istanbul Technical University in Turkey. I have worked professionally as a licensed architect in the Netherlands and Turkey (Is Bank Headquarters Construction, Atelier T Architects, among others) and researched at University of Pennsylvania, USA, University College Dublin, Ireland and ZK/U Center for Art and Urbanism in Berlin, Germany. I have conducted several urban filmmaking workshops, attended international conferences, published widely, and taught at Philadelphia University, USA, Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands and Izmir University of Economics, Turkey, before coming to Queen's in 2011.

I have been conducting interdisciplinary research at the intersection of architecture and cinema in the USA, the Netherlands, Turkey, Ireland and the UK for 20+ years. Using film as a representation of urban space and/or architectural space, I study the relationship between the two disciplines to better understand and interact with the built environment and urban landscapes. So the question that is worth exploring for me is: How can film create 'a new way of seeing' to understand and develop cities and buildings better? In this context, I run a collaborative reseach group, CACity (Cinema and Architecture in the City, www.cacity.org) open to all. My reseach interests include:

Cinema and the City

Architecture and Film Locations

Urban Space/Architectural Space/Film Space/Sci-Fi Space

Architectural Media and Representation

Architecture and New Media/AR-VR/Gaming

Digital Mapping in the Humanities

Architectural Design Education

Architecture and Forced Migration

Minorities and Future of the City

Refugees and Concept of Home

Archirecture for Climate Migrants

Architecture and migration is relatively a new area of research for me. As a migrant who has lived/worked in eight cities in five countries, I have always been interested in the public and private spaces occupied by newcomers and minorities in a city. My research on Fatih Akin's films that tell the stories of ethnic minorities in urban Germany is a result of this interest. I have been working on the architectural consequences of forced migration in developing countries since 2017, and I use film analysis and filmmaking in my methodology. I also have a Master dissertation group who work on this topic.

I enjoy teaching as much as research and have tutored in five countries in the areas of Architectural Design, and History, Theory and Criticism both part-time and full-time after working as a practicing architect for several years. I have taught the following to students of Architecture, Interior Architecture, Industrial Design, Fashion Design, and Visual Communication Design in various universities:

Design Studio (1st year)

Architectural Design Studio (1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th year)

Architectural History (1st, 2nd and 3rd year)

Architectural Theory (2nd year and masters)

Architecture and Film (3rd and 4th year)

Architectural Media and Communication (2nd and 3rd year and masters)

Thesis Project (masters)

Dissertation (masters)/Thesis (PhD)

I have been teaching at Queen's for 10+ years. Between 2016 and 2019, I was the Programme Director of the BSc Architecture course. BSc is a professionally accredited Architecture Part 1 programme (by ARB and RIBA) with up to 200 local and international students. Queen's is a Russel Group (research) university, and, since 2020, I have been the Programme Director of MSc Advanced Architectural Design, a new yearlong masters course. In Architecture at Queen's, I have coordinated and/or tutored these modules:

Architectural Design and Communication Studio (1st, 2nd, 3rd year) (2011- )

CineArch Studio (2nd and 3rd year and masters) (2017- )

History and Theory of Architecture (2nd year) (2011- )

Humanities Dissertation: Architecture and Cinema (masters) (2011-2017)

Humanities Dissertation: Architecture and Migration (masters) (2017- )

Thesis Project (masters) (2022- )

PhD Thesis (2011- )

My current and previous academic leadership roles at Queen's include the following:

MSc Advanced Architectural Design Programme Director

BSc Architecture Programme Director

Education Committee (Qualities and Standards) Member

School Management Board Member

CACity Cinema and Architecture in the City Research Group Leader

BSc Architecture and MSc AAD Admissions Coordinator

Architecture Year 1 Leader

SNBE Education Committee Member

Student Liaison Officer

Erasmus and IAESTE Coordinator

External Examination Coordinator

Lead Personal Tutor

Prizes and Awards Coordinator

Welcome Week Coordinator

Staff Student Consultative Committee/Student Voice Member

School Postgraduate Research Committee Member

Culture and Society Research Cluster Member