Ahead of The Monocle Quality of Life Conference, which takes place in Istanbul this week, I travelled to the city to meet some of the design studios that are enmeshed with their environment. As I explored the neighbourhoods of Beyoglu, Sisli and Maslak, it was clear that the city’s status as a crossroads of cultures, customs and continents means that Istanbulites are adept at going with the flow.
A considerable amount of ink has already been spilt on this topic, so let’s get the clichés out of the way: it’s a city where Asia meets Europe, religion meets secularism and past meets present. But clichés often hold some truth and the chaos of Istanbul demands a can-do, do-it-all mentality that is particularly apparent in its design scene. Seamlessly shapeshifting between architecture, product design, print, consulting and more, creatives here are not afraid of donning multiple hats.
“You become a kind of MacGyver character because the profession is so vast,” says Inanc Eray, founder of Sour, an Istanbul- and New York-based design studio. “In the morning you’re creating a design; at lunchtime it’s the budgets; and then you’re dealing with a water leak.” This sentiment became the recurring theme of my trip, echoed by studios such as Autoban, Superpool, Sanayi313 and Studio Yellowdot. “Istanbul is a very fluid place; whatever you put in needs to adapt and change,” says Selva Gurdogan, co-founder of Istanbul- and Copenhagen-based Superpool. “It forces you to be multidisciplinary as you work with the flows of the city. It’s not perfect and that’s the beauty of it. You can always imagine ways to transform it.”
The success of these studios, both as leaders within the Turkish design scene and winners of significant commissions abroad, is built off the back of these dynamic practices – showing that chaos should, sometimes, be embraced. Shying away from complexity, trying to streamline design processes, pigeonholing disciplines and being too rigid in one’s worldview can stifle creativity. For those who live in more ordered cities, Istanbul’s thriving design scene shows that the best tool to keep up your sleeve is an agile mind. If you’re open to any eventuality, who knows what it might yield?
Grace Charlton is Monocle’s associate editor. You can keep up with The Monocle Quality of Life Conference by tuning in to
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