Organized by Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) Faculty of Architecture, Department of Architecture and Department of Interior Architecture, the second international conference titled “Unspoken Issues in Architectural Education” was held between 14 and 15 April 2022. The conference, which continued with the opening adresses after the opening with a musical concert at the Rauf Raif Denktaş Culture and Congress Center on Thursday, 14 April 2022, at 09:30 a.m., was held under the theme “Unspoken”.
Delivering the opening speech of the conference, EMU Architecture Faculty Dean Prof. Dr. Uğur Ulaş Dağlı started her address by thanking all the conference participants for accepting the invitation and coming, especially in today's world where the pandemic process still continues. Emphasizing that the key words of the conference are "Architecture and Education", Prof. Dr. Dağlı stated that the words architecture and education are multi-layered terms and both words are human and society-oriented, therefore both represent extraordinary difference, diversity and change. Noting that they have organized the second conference to reveal what has changed in the period after the first conference, Prof. Dr. Dağlı also noted that they wanted to determine a new roadmap to an equation with many unknowns, based on the "new normal" environment revealed by the pandemic. Prof. Dr. Dağlı thanked everyone who contributed to the realization of the conference and emphasized that they were especially proud of the support of the Northern Cyprus Turkish Chamber of Architects to the Faculty in such an organization. At the end of her speech, Prof. Dr. Dağlı stated her hope that during the conference all issues pertaining to architectural education are discussed in full and wished all participants a pleasant conference.
Speaking after Prof. Dr. Dağlı, EMU Rector Prof. Dr. Aykut Hocanın, on the other hand, expressed his pride for meeting with EMU faculty members, various academics and students at a conference worthy of EMU's name during the pandemic period and emphasized that quality in education is an issue that EMU takes very seriously. Noting that most of EMU's programs are accredited by international organizations, Prof. Dr. Hocanın added that it is not easy to gain accreditations. Prof. Dr. Aykut Hocanın thanked everyone who contributed to the realization of the event, and emphasised that it is very important to re-organize such events and wished the participants a productive conference.
In the sessions held after the opening speeches, presentations were delivered in fields including design, architecture, interior architecture, art and architectural history, engineering, urban and cultural studies, sociology, environmental science and education. On 14 April, 2022, at 17.00, a presentation on “Spatial Pedagogies for Non – Binary Ecologies” was made by Prof. Dr. Harriet Harris under the moderation of Architecture Department academic staff member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ceren Boğaç, An opening Cocktail was held at 18.00 after the presentation.
Presentations Continued on 15 April
On Friday, 15 April 2022, the second day of the event, at 09:45 a.m., a presentation on “Spectres + Paradigms” was delivered by Prof. Dr. Graeme Brooker under the moderation of Faculty of Architecture Academic Staff Member Prof. Dr. Şebnem Hoşkara. After the presentations that continued throughout the day, at 15.00, the closing panel was held under the moderation of the Head of Architecture Department Prof. Dr. Resmiye Alpar Atun. Recent architectural developments and provocative thoughts on the future were the main themes of the closing panel attended by Mia Roth-Cerina, the Deputy Dean of the University of Zagreb and representative of the European Association for Architectural Education (EAAE), , and Shashi Caan, President of the International Federation of Interior Architects (IFI).
Chair of Interior Architecture Department Assoc. Prof. Zehra Öngül, on the other hand, emphasized in her closing speech that they hope that the 3rd conference will be held in the next 2 years with more collaborations with other partners working on architectural education.