Middle East Garden Traditions: Contributors
Prof. B. Deniz Çalış Kural is a practicing architect and teaches full-time at Istanbul Bilgi University. She received her BArch at Middle East Technical University (METU, 1995); MArch at Pratt Institute (1998); PhD at METU (2004); was a junior fellow at Dumbarton Oaks Garden and Landscape Studies (2003-2004); post-doctoral associate at Harvard University Aga Khan Program (2015-2016); hold scholarships from The Scientific & Technological Research Council of Turkey and Turkish Academy of Sciences. She was a research and teaching assistant at Pratt and METU; taught at Yeditepe and Bahçeşehir, and, at University of Virginia; acted as the Vice Dean at Yeditepe; Director of Graduate Program in HTC (2014-2021) and as the Head of the Department of Architecture (2021-2023) at Istanbul Bilgi University. Çalış teaches design studio and seminars on history and theory of architecture, gardens and landscape. Her research interests include both contemporary and historical gardens and landscape traditions, cross-cultural influences across the Mediterranean and urban history of Istanbul. Çalış is one of the original founders and editors of the MEGT – Middle East Garden Traditions website (2003-2014). Her research and design are published by Dumbarton Oaks, TOPOS and Journal of History of Gardens and Designed Landscapes, among others. Her book Şehrengiz, Urban Rituals and Deviant Sufi Mysticism in Ottoman Istanbul (Ashgate, 2014) discusses concepts of “imagination” and the “in-between” space in the early modern urban landscape rituals. Çalış’s co-authored book Beyazıt Square Urban Design Project (2023) documents the recent work of her office - UrbAr Office of Urbanization and Architecture.
Prof. B. Deniz Çalış Kural is a practicing architect and teaches full-time at Istanbul Bilgi University. She received her BArch at Middle East Technical University (METU, 1995); MArch at Pratt Institute (1998); PhD at METU (2004); was a junior fellow at Dumbarton Oaks Garden and Landscape Studies (2003-2004); post-doctoral associate at Harvard University Aga Khan Program (2015-2016); hold scholarships from The Scientific & Technological Research Council of Turkey and Turkish Academy of Sciences. She was a research and teaching assistant at Pratt and METU; taught at Yeditepe and Bahçeşehir, and, at University of Virginia; acted as the Vice Dean at Yeditepe; Director of Graduate Program in HTC (2014-2021) and as the Head of the Department of Architecture (2021-2023) at Istanbul Bilgi University. Çalış teaches design studio and seminars on history and theory of architecture, gardens and landscape. Her research interests include both contemporary and historical gardens and landscape traditions, cross-cultural influences across the Mediterranean and urban history of Istanbul. Çalış is one of the original founders and editors of the MEGT – Middle East Garden Traditions website (2003-2014). Her research and design are published by Dumbarton Oaks, TOPOS and Journal of History of Gardens and Designed Landscapes, among others. Her book Şehrengiz, Urban Rituals and Deviant Sufi Mysticism in Ottoman Istanbul (Ashgate, 2014) discusses concepts of “imagination” and the “in-between” space in the early modern urban landscape rituals. Çalış’s co-authored book Beyazıt Square Urban Design Project (2023) documents the recent work of her office - UrbAr Office of Urbanization and Architecture.