2025 - 2026 Fall
Landscape Design II Studio
“Sew the Rip! : Counter Sprawl Against the Invasive Urbanism” 

Landscape Design II - PEM 311E  (CRN 13889)  – “Sew the Rip! : Counter Sprawl Against the Invasive Urbanism”  will be conducted by Assoc. Prof. Didem Dizdaroğlu (PhD) and Res. Assist.  Hüseyin Ögçe in the 2025-2026 Fall Semester. 

The studio aims to critically examine Bandırma, a coastal settlement that once built its organic character upon natural and agricultural textures but has undergone a profound transformation under the effects of industrialization and dense urbanization. Historically known as “Panderma”, meaning safe harbor, the city embraced the Marmara Sea to the north and flourished as a modest settlement interwoven with agricultural lands. Over time, however, it expanded into a major commercial hub, where the port’s growing capacity was accompanied by the proliferation of power plants, factories, and mining zones that gradually overtook the city. 

During the last half-century, particularly through the expansion of the port, these radical transformations have created deep “rips” in the physical environment and social fabric, weakening the city’s ties to nature, to society, and to its own history. This state of alienation—where individuals are disconnected from each other, from their natural surroundings, and where ecological systems are fragmented—renders the urgency of multi-layered strategic and design approaches inevitable. Within this context, the studio focuses on exploring ways to “sew” these ruptures back together by developing counter-spatial tactics against the invasive spread of capitalism, reimagining Bandırma through its ecological, social, and cultural codes.