Architecture and design vision meet at OMU as Mayıs’Tasarım Samsun Biennial opens

Hosted by the Faculty of Architecture at Ondokuz Mayıs University (OMU), the third Mayıs’Tasarım Samsun 2026 Design Biennial opened its doors with broad participation.

The opening program held at OMU Stage was attended by OMU Rector Prof. Dr. Fatma Aydın, İlkadım Mayor İhsan Kurnaz, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture Prof. Dr. Mehmet Çetin, students, lecturers, architects, and guests.

Held this year between 6–12 May at three different venues under the motto “We are on the road, we are moving forward, we are in Samsun,” the biennial is being realized through the partnership of four important institutions in Samsun.

Organized in cooperation with OMU Faculty of Architecture, Samsun University Faculty of Architecture and Design, TMMOB Chamber of Architects Samsun Branch, and Samsun Metropolitan Municipality, this year’s design biennial features a comprehensive program consisting of 48 workshops, talks, panels, exhibitions, and trips. Shaped by the labor and contributions of nearly 100 people, this design festival approaches design as a practice of thinking and production.

Rector Aydın: “Structures that ignore aesthetic depth silently disappear over time”

Speaking at the opening of the program, OMU Rector Prof. Dr. Fatma Aydın said, “I am very pleased to be among you at this meaningful gathering where architecture, planning, design, and art come together, and where thought turns into production. Societies that can adapt to the spirit of the age and construct aesthetic concern with an understanding of ‘continuing by changing and changing by continuing’ can move toward the future with firm steps. We believe that today’s architecture should evaluate settlement preferences beyond the mere need for shelter and create lasting works that reflect aesthetic and cultural depth. Structures that ignore aesthetic depth silently disappear over time. Leading the fulfillment of the requirements of the age in line with the sensitivities of our nation is among the most important duties of academia.”

“While living today, we are also building tomorrow”

Rector Aydın continued her speech as follows: “With this awareness, we are opening the university leg of the Mayıs Tasarım Samsun 2026 Design Biennial, which will be held between 6–12 May. While living today, we are also building tomorrow. We believe that every sentence to be formed about the cities, spaces, and lifestyles of the future is valuable. Because design is a social responsibility that brings the boundaries of aesthetic pursuit together with the peace of the individual. I hope that the Mayıs Tasarım Biennial will take place within a framework that produces qualified, inspiring, and lasting outputs.”

İlkadım Mayor Kurnaz: “We must take steps that will carry our cities into the future”

İlkadım Mayor İhsan Kurnaz said in his speech, “We are extremely pleased that such a qualified faculty is located in İlkadım. As a mayor, we attach great importance to the orderly, aesthetic development of our cities, supported by social reinforcement areas. However, since İlkadım is one of the oldest settlement areas of Samsun, it has been a region where unplanned construction was experienced intensely in the past. If only our cities had been designed more broadly and in a more planned way years ago, we would not be facing some of the problems we experience today. Nevertheless, we believe that the current situation can be turned into an advantage in terms of necessary transformation processes. With the contributions of the Chamber of Architects, especially, and the architecture faculties of our universities, we want to bring İlkadım to a more livable urban identity without disrupting the sociology of our citizens, without disturbing them, and while protecting their property rights.”

Dean Çetin: “The biennial is a strong ground for producing and sharing together”

Dean of OMU Faculty of Architecture Prof. Dr. Mehmet Çetin said, “The Mayıs Tasarım Biennial is not only the opening of an event, but also has the feature of being a strong ground for producing and sharing together. We believe that this organization, which brings different disciplines together through panels, talks, exhibitions, and workshops, will create an important area of interaction. As a faculty, we think that architecture and design education should not remain limited to the classroom environment. We care that our students are raised as individuals who learn by experience, question, criticize, and produce. The organization being carried out in partnership with Samsun University, the Chamber of Architects Samsun Branch, and Samsun Metropolitan Municipality is also of great importance. Inter-institutional cooperation is one of the most fundamental elements that increase the quality of knowledge production. We believe that this biennial is a valuable opportunity for our students to express themselves and encounter different perspectives, and we advise them to make the most efficient use of the process. We hope that the biennial will be an inspiring process that leaves lasting impressions.”

The architecture of the future discussed at OMU

Senior Architect Deniz Aslan, who met with OMU students, provided information to students in his talk titled “Between Architecture and Landscape.”

“It will be said that every building should produce 60 percent of the energy it consumes”

Expressing that, over time, physical structures will be expected to produce their own electricity, Deniz Aslan said, “Right now, the world is a world of composites. Today, there is not much meaning in using wood simply as wood. That resource is also gradually disappearing. However, you can provide wood as a thin material. You can add an energy-related module in front of it. This could be a facade material that utilizes solar energy. A plant can also be a part of this. You can produce building materials from the plant you grow there. There are companies producing building materials from algae. New types of biologically based materials are very important. All of these are composites. Producing energy is a subject in itself. There will be situations such as every building producing energy at a certain percentage. It will be said that every building should produce 60 percent of the energy it consumes. It is necessary to be ready for these as well. Just as it is important for the building to produce energy, it is also important that it does not lose heat. Buildings that are constantly heated intensely will probably no longer be allowed. Because there is no such resource.”

“People die because of heavy buildings; different building materials are needed”

Stating that the issue of earthquakes and buildings is also intertwined with architecture, Aslan said, “Architecture needs to regain its dual state again. It is no longer possible not to know passive climate control. Everyone must know this in the new world. In architecture, what is called a building should not consist merely of flooring within four walls. Earthquake is one of the most important issues. Why do we build heavy buildings? People die because of heavy buildings. This is also a subject in itself. There are tremendous building materials for such structures. Architecture, interior architecture, urbanism, landscape architecture; whichever field we combine it with, new composites are needed in this sense.”

The program continued with different talks

In the talk titled “Learning by Discovering and Designing Inspired by Finland,” delivered by Özlem Osmanoğlu and Hande Kars, the relationship between education and design processes was addressed. Students had the opportunity to make a comprehensive evaluation on experience-based learning models and design-oriented thinking practices.

In the final talk of the program, Çağlar Uzun shared application examples for corporate space design with his presentation titled “Interior Architectural Touches in Corporate Structures.” In the presentation, the effects of interior design on corporate identity and user experience were discussed.

At the end of the opening program, acknowledgments were presented to the stakeholders who contributed to the realization of the biennial. Certificates of appreciation were presented to SAMU, OMU, TMMOB Chamber of Architects Samsun Branch, and Samsun Metropolitan Municipality, as well as to academics, students, and volunteer community representatives assigned during the organization process for their contributions.

The Biennial, held at three different venues, will continue until 12 May.