TR + NL collaborations

Between Turkey and the Netherlands there are currently only a few projects dealing with architecture and landscape design. Mostly there is a focus on urban planning. However the quality and duration of existing projects is substantial: Nai (Istanbul), Berlage Instituut (Diyarbakir) and Delft University (Ankara) are active partners of Turkish organizations. Another remarkable feat is that Dutch partners in this field are also venturing outside of Istanbul. Especially in Dutch city building, town-planning, and the construction of public housing there is a lot of interest from Turkey. On the other hand there is also interest in Holland for ‘Mediterranean building’. However, the quite specific and limited respresentation of ‘Turkish architecture’ in the Netherlands – read: mosque design and the housing of Dutch elderly with a Turkish background – raises some eyebrows amongst Turkish professionals. A more balanced representation of Turkish architecture in the Netherlands is long overdue.