UNISERVITATE
Special Mention
Recognition for Alt_Shift’s community-engaged architectural learning at KU Leuven.
Shared by Burak Pak and Aurélie De Smet.
Award announcement ↗︎Burak Pak
About me
Architecture, circularity and collective learning.
Co-creating resilient and regenerative futures.
I am an architect and Associate Professor at İstanbul University’s Faculty of Architecture. I explore how emerging technologies and participatory design can support circular built environments, from building components to urban spaces. Through collaborative research and education, I develop and test design approaches that keep resources in use, accommodate change and enable people to shape their environments.
Across research and teaching in Türkiye, Belgium and Australia, I have worked with students, researchers, residents and civil-society partners. Projects such as Solidary Mobile Housing and WoonBox bring architectural experimentation into contact with everyday housing needs.
At Deakin University, I directed the MSc Design for Circular Cities. At KU Leuven, I developed community-engaged architectural learning alongside doctoral supervision. My current TÜBİTAK 2232-A research at İstanbul University brings this experience into the design of circular housing for earthquake resilience in Türkiye.
My professional development includes certification as a CIRCO trainer, the Circular Economy Institute’s Circular Built Environment Specialist qualification and completion of the McKinsey Forward programme.
- Circular Built Environment SpecialistCEI · Circular Economy Institute
- Certified CIRCO TrainerCircular design
- McKinsey ForwardProgramme graduate
Awards & recognition
UNISERVITATE
İlhan Tekeli
Doctoral Thesis Award
Awarded to Görsev Argın Uz for Post-Flânerie, her research on walking, visual attention and experience in hybrid public space.
Supervisor: Handan Türkoğlu.
Co-supervisor: Burak Pak.
Earlier distinction
Başiskele Interchange · Special mention
Team contribution to the transport and landscape design competition in Kocaeli.
Team & competition record
Architects: İpek Yürekli, Ahmet Arda İnceoğlu and Deniz Aslan. Assistants: Burak Pak, Sevince Bayrak and Oral Göktaş.
Competition results, 2004 ↗︎Background
Academic appointments
- Current
- Associate Professorİstanbul University · Faculty of Architecture
- Aug 2025 – Mar 2026
- Director, MSc Design for Circular Cities & Senior LecturerDeakin University
Programme and teaching account ↗︎ - Sep 2022 – Mar 2023
- Adjunct ProfessorKU Leuven · Faculty of Architecture
- Sep 2017 – Sep 2022
- Assistant ProfessorKU Leuven · Faculty of Architecture
- 2013 – 2017
- Doctor AssistantKU Leuven · Faculty of Architecture
- 2009 – 2013
- Postdoctoral Research FellowHogeschool voor Wetenschap en Kunst · Sint-Lucas Faculty of Architecture
- 2003 – 2009
- Research Assistantİstanbul Technical University
Academic service
Organiser and chair of eCAADe 2022, “Co-creating the Future”, and lead editor of the 2024 International Journal of Architectural Computing special issue on co-creation and inclusion in and through spatial design.
Qualifications
Education & professional development
Academic education
- 2009PhD in Architectureİstanbul Technical University
Design activities and decisions in conventional and computer-aided architectural design processes. - 2003MSc in Architectureİstanbul Technical University
Architectural computational design - 2000Bachelor’s in ArchitectureYıldız Technical University
Professional qualifications
- Certified CIRCO TrainerCircular design
- Circular Built Environment SpecialistCircular Economy Institute, London
- Higher Education Learning & TeachingKU Leuven
Certificaat Basiskwalificatie Onderwijs - Associate Professor RecognitionTurkish Interuniversity Board
- Licensed ArchitectChamber of Architects, Türkiye
Executive education & programmes
- McKinsey ForwardProgramme graduate
- 2024Corporate Innovation EcosystemsMIT Sloan School of Management
- 2024Entrepreneurship Acceleration ProgramThe Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
- 2023Artificial Intelligence ProgrammeSaïd Business School, University of Oxford
- 2023Strategic Innovation ProgrammeSaïd Business School, University of Oxford
Further completed courses +
- Circular Economy for a Sustainable Built Environment — Delft University of Technology
- Sustainable Construction in a Circular Economy — Parsons School of Design
- Systems Worldviews: From Sustainability to Regeneration — ETH Zürich
- Stakeholder Collaboration: Organizing for Environmental Justice and Equitable Solutions — University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
- Stakeholder Outreach: Effective Communication of Complex Environmental Threats — University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
Contact
Burak Pak
Associate Professor, PhD
İstanbul University · Faculty of Architecture