The “Creative Workshop: Places and Experiences” Exhibition, organized by the Samsun Urban Studies and Conservation Research Group (SAMKENTKORUMA) operating under the Research and Development Coordination Office of Ondokuz Mayıs University (OMU), brings together analyses and design proposals focused on the city’s historic and public spaces.

Supported by OMU’s Faculty of Architecture, Samsun Metropolitan Municipality, and the Samsun Branch of the Chamber of Architects, the exhibition has opened to visitors at the Samsun Branch of the Chamber of Architects.

The exhibition presents research, analysis, and design projects produced during the “Creative Workshop: Places and Experiences” event held in May.

As part of the workshop process, participants conducted field studies focusing on Bankalar Street, Republic Square, Anakent Square, and Saathane Square, locations that play a significant role in Samsun’s urban identity.

Using participatory methods, the participants examined user experiences, elements of urban memory, and spatial characteristics, identifying challenges and opportunities while developing design proposals for the selected sites.

The exhibition features spatial analyses, participatory mapping studies, SWOT analyses (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats), design proposals, and AI-assisted visualization projects developed during the workshop.

Research group coordinators and exhibition curators, Research Assistant Dr. Damla Karagöz and Research Assistant Nilay Nida Can, emphasized that the exhibition is more than a presentation of final outcomes.

Karagöz noted that the project aims to make collaborative thinking and production practices about the city more visible, adding:

“Evaluating public spaces through the lenses of user experience and urban memory contributes to the development of more inclusive and higher-quality ideas for the future of cities. This exhibition reveals participants’ relationships with the city through a process of collective learning.”