Aras Burak

29th December 2010 Wednesday

Completing Beauvais Cathedral / AA Diploma 3

source: arasburak.net

29th September 2009 Tuesday

Iconic Fictions / AA Diploma 9

source: arasburak.net

Amandine Kastler / Monuments on Top (2008 -2009)

"Architects have long used fiction as a tool: first to explore and design uncharted territories, and second as a presentation device. Fiction, both written and visual, is an experimental practice to try out spatial and relational ideas in the unconfined territory of an imagined world. This year we will invent fictions to theorise and visualise space and form.

This third year of the Iconic series will hover between fiction and reality, as the unit sets out to imagine our possible futures. While economic and cultural ambitions generally have shrunk drastically since we first introduced this agenda two years ago, the unit’s projects have followed a decidedly contrary path – becoming increasingly bold and far-fetched as the Dow Jones decreased. And so this year we will carry the momentum forward as we blur the line between the real and the imaginary, weaving fictional stories around and through our projects as we develop truly fantastical iconic proposals.

The unit believes that the icon is not only still possible, but is crucial at a time of waning optimism. The unit demands above all an unselfconscious and highly personal belief in architectural potential, imagination, criticality and profundity. This year we will push this to extremes as we use fiction as a device to stretch architectural, spatial and cultural boundaries. As in previous years, we will demand highly individuated student investigations into a deliberately broad spectrum of project considerations, including context, publicity, programme, image and beauty.

The students of Diploma 9 begin the year with the making of a highly personal, individual manifesto, whose expression frames the year ahead. This year your manifesto will also set up the fiction that will weave around your personality, project, site, and cultural context as you shape your icon. Taking account of the optical dominance of the way we view our environment, we place a heavy emphasis on the deliberate construction of images and scenarios to illustrate the manifesto. These images will exaggerate – even downright lie – in the telling of their tales, a quality we feel is a fundamental aspect of designing and manipulating an iconic image alongside its proposal and story.

Students will choose their own sites as they relate to the first project of the year. They will be real sites in real cities. Seminars on the topic will be held in collaboration with students from the MA in Histories and Theories throughout terms 1 and 2."

30th June 2009 Tuesday

Urban Room Project

source: buildingoffice.net

It was very important in this project to create a frame - an edge for visitors, shop owners, hotel management to accommodate, allowing them to change and give characteristics to it in time. This is the reason behind the skin being uniform and pretty simple. In this project, the architect's role is defining interesting and beautiful spaces with programme suggesting light and material qualities.

The aim is to create an almost puzzle like tension between the user and the designer.

In this game, while architect dreams a space to be used in certain ways, he never limits the creativity of the user and does not underestimate the instincts of the building's user. To do this, more than one circulation options are provided, openings like windows, doors are not built solid, a wall is a frame instead of a solid concrete boundary.

22nd April 2009 Wednesday

Urban Room Project

source: urbanroom.arasburak.net

We have been very busy with our new hotel project in Tower Hill London in the past few months.

The work is still in progress and can be followed from http://urbanroom.arasburak.net

The hotel project aims to accommodate both private and the public spaces with advanced spatial arrangements - using the techniques borrowed from Tokyo Shibuya and Kyoto - just next to each other rejecting the traditional boundaries of programmes by having floorplates and walls for seperation.

Urban Room Project / Tower Gardens Hotel is being realized following the unit programme of Intermediate 6 at Architectural Association School of Architecture in association with Scobie Alvis and Aris Kozmidis' technical consulting.

27th February 2009 Friday

Reading Office website: readingoffice.net launches

We’ve been thinking about the functions and future of the Printing Office and the production of this research branch of the Building Office.

Although “printing” has a meaning of a “sign” or “trace of something”; in the future, we would like to emphasis the importance of the research and understanding - the interpretation - of the world and be inspiring for the world, we are thinking to call Printing Office as Reading Office from now on. Mehmet Tolgay will be directing the Reading Office starting from March 2009. One of our first tasks will be forming a wishlist for the election for the mayor of Istanbul in April 2009.

04th December 2008 Thursday

Plaster Model

source: arasburak.net

This plaster model is casted inside a foam mould. After the settlement of the plaster, with the aid of aceton I melted the mould and got this very thin shell wih another layer of coloured plaster inside.

The contrast of the two surfaces differ very apparently. while the inner shell is very smooth and reacting to the light in a very different way, the outer layer is because of its previous attachment to the foam mould, feels more rough.

An accident happened during the making of this plaster model which also lead me to have a very interesting result. One weak corner of the foam mould broke with the pressure of the water and started floating on the bottom corner of the box that I'm doing the casting in.

This accident caused the outer layer to spread into the supposively inner shell. (the image on the right)

04th December 2008 Thursday

The Grand Bazaar vs Cevahir Mall

source: istanbulsisli.org

The first essay of the Sisli Book will be the Grand Bazaar vs Cevahir Mall which will take its place in the book by the mid January 2009!

19th October 2008 Sunday

Press Release: Yalikavak House

source: buildingoffice.net

We've been working on Zorlu Center proposal in association with Aisha Hassan since 2007 summer and we're almost on the final stages to present our proposal to public. On the late stages, Elif Demir as the local architect also provided us a lot of information about the site and project brief.

19th October 2008 Sunday

First Sisli draft is ready!

source: istanbulsisli.org

The first draft of Sisli Book is published. This draft edition was prepared in Turkish and the content is put together for the Turkish public's interest and understanding for the city.

11th October 2008 Saturday

Cube Studies in Inter6 AA

source: arasburak.net

Translating the Ukiyo-e image into topographies. Adapting them into different formations using various techniques like pixelating, overlapping..

18th October 2008 Saturday

Building Office launches four blogs!

We've changed all our network to blog system by this weekend. By doing this, hoping to share more of the production with you. Also arasburak.net is introduced as the new academical research blog which will host the work I do in the Architectural Association School of Architecture, London.

The other websites are buildingoffice.net for the Building Office and istanbulsisli.org for the Sisli Research by BO.

In arasburak.com you will find a more all-in-one summary for all work done in different categories.

Aras Burak

1985 born Massachusetts, United States of America

2003 University of East London, RIBA 1, London

2007 Office for Metropolitan Architecture, Rotterdam

2008 Architectural Association, London