Helin Can is a spatial practitioner based in Zurich, working in the landscape and architecture fields. She studied Architecture in Istanbul Technical University and Bauhaus University Weimar, and is currently a part of Studio Céline Baumann in Basel. She has been associated with the Bauhaus-Institute for History and Theory of Architecture and Planning, International Heritage-Centre and the Horizonte Initiative in Weimar, focusing on critical heritage studies, architectural discourse and theory. She has applied her architectural knowledge onto cybernetics while working as a systems designer for the Berlin based Web3.0 company Curve Labs.
In her initiative work, she has engaged (and failed) extensively. Her main topics of interest in this collaborative context were teaching, inclusion, property and commons in architectural fields, as well as organisational/collaborative methods themselves.
The lecture series ‘initiatives’ focuses on student-led initiatives, grassroots organisations, and community-driven efforts in spatial practice, architecture, urbanism as well as their neighbouring fields. It sets out to examine the significance of these initiatives in addressing pressing ecological, cultural and social issues – most prominently climate breakdown. Often shoring up the limitations of legacy structures and habits, these initiatives often operate outside of mainstream offices and educational institutions – filling in the gaps left by those structures with ideas, new forms, and types of communities as well as political concerns. The act of ignoring becomes a subversive element here, whereby those structures/presumptions/sets of rules are actively rejected, trespassed or enhanced, leading to new and different uses of space.
Invited guests will talk about their experiences creating and leading these initiatives, presenting a critical analysis of the challenges and opportunities they have encountered along the way. Discussions will cover the role of community-based initiatives in tackling ecological problems, the significance of student-led organisations in advancing social and spatial justice, and the potential for these initiatives to develop other types of practice and other ways of doing architecture, and urbanism.
The event will be held in English and can be accessed via the following link:
https://tu-braunschweig.webex.com/tu-braunschweig/j.php?MTID=m15ab7cb4ed74c5480727ff7f1121983f
Meeting ID: 2730 659 3343 | Meeting password: y3yTJfaJM55