
Noyan Berkman
I am a strong believer in experiences and the effects those experiences have on shaping one's professional vision. Variety of experiences I was exposed to growing up in Turkey and moving to New York, definitely shaped the process of my designs and informed the ways in which I communicate with clients. Throughout my path from Izmir to New York, I have increasingly learned to appreciate the value of living and practicing in multicultural urban developing cities such as Izmir and Istanbul.
Essentially culture is what shapes our built environments. As a product of culture, space is not an innate entity, but is the setting of life and its various rituals and activities. Since the built environment is closely interlinked with culture, the social complexities and symbolic construct manifested in physical spaces will also vary, which is what we need to understand.
In my designs, I am mainly concerned in developing new paradigms which reevaluate public and private boundaries through the lens of the user, and this new paradigm is to initiate the physical, social and economic design of a space that supports rather than restricts the activities of the user. One can only achieve success in such an environment by appreciating such varieties and seeking advantageous opportunities in what may seem as a disadvantage to another.