MURAT SOYGENIS, FAIA
Founding Partner, Professor S+ ARCHITECTURE

Murat Soygenis FAIA, a founding partner at S+ ARCHITECTURE, is an architect and a professor practicing in Istanbul. He received his architectural education in Istanbul and at University at Buffalo. He has served as the Dean of School of Architecture (YTU) and received awards for his contributions to profession. Soygenis has given numerous lectures in various countries, received architectural firm awards including from the RIBA Journal among many, participated in exhibitions and served as a jury member in many international architectural prizes and competitions. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA), member of the Chamber of Architects in Istanbul (UIA), and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

https://www.splusarchitecture.com/

What did you most enjoy about the IDA judging process?

The most pleasing part of the IDA judging process is the opportunity you get to see many innovative projects from around the world. It is like you are on vacation traveling to places you have never been before.

What did you think about the quality of the entries in the IDA?

IDA Design Awards is the platform for designers to submit their work with confidence knowing that the most innovative and unique projects get awarded.

How did you feel about the quality of the students’ entries?

Students’ entries to the IDA Design Awards has always been high quality and creative. It has always been very difficult to choose the winners from among competitively visionary ones.

After reviewing the IDA projects, did you see evidence of current trends or challenges in the design industry?

The projects submitted to IDA represent a wide range of current trends in architecture and cover almost all parts of the globe. Innovative use of materials, unique spatial arrangement, harmony with the environment, caring for sustainability issues are the factors that makes the submitted project stand out while being part of the current trends.

What are you working on, what is in the pipeline for you for 2021?

We, as S+ ARCHITECTURE, are working on a few projects. Low-cost housing, infill housing, mixed-use complex and a few others are among these. In today’s challenging times, I strongly believe that environmental and sustainability issues are the top priorities that we should be concentrating on. It is critical for all design professionals to be aware of the challenges that the world is facing. Environmental sustainability, climate change, global health and the refugee crisis are the top priority for all architects, engineers, designers, planners and educators to act upon.

What do you think are the biggest challenges and opportunities in your career/industry now?

The biggest challenge in architecture now is to cope with the hardships introduced ever since the coronavirus pandemic started. In architectural offices these challenges can be listed as how to restructure practice and by which methods. The answers may bring the opportunities with them. Like remote working, efficient use of digital technologies, virtual internships, and many others. It is time for all of us as professionals to reevaluate our practice structure and be creative when dealing with the new work methods we employ.