Dean’s Foreword

Dear Readers,

With a university tradition spanning more than 250 years and a faculty history of over 80 years, the Faculty of Architecture at Istanbul Technical University is a well-established and pioneering institution that represents one of ITU’s most distinctive identities. Through its departments of Architecture, Interior Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Urban and Regional Planning, and Industrial Design, along with their associated graduate programs, our Faculty constitutes one of the core components of the university’s academic structure. Its design-oriented approach to education and research, combined with the strong infrastructure provided by the tradition of a technical university, clearly distinguishes our Faculty from its counterparts in Turkey and around the world. With its extensive academic staff, diverse areas of expertise, and productive structure, the Faculty of Architecture holds a leading position at the national level.

The vision of our Faculty—whose mission is to educate professionals and academics who are contemporary, participatory, and research-oriented; innovative and competitive at both national and global scales; and who embrace interdisciplinary working practices—is to become a leading institution at the national and global levels through an innovative and entrepreneurial approach that is open to interdisciplinary collaboration. In line with this vision, the Faculty of Architecture at Istanbul Technical University has achieved a significant success in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025. Rising from the 101–150 band in 2024, the Faculty was ranked in the 51–100 range worldwide in the field of Architecture / Built Environment in 2025; additionally, it entered the rankings for the first time in the field of Art & Design, placing in the 151–200 range. These results clearly demonstrate our Faculty’s growing international academic visibility and increasing influence in the design disciplines.

Thanks to its spatial resources and strong institutional identity, our Faculty not only organizes numerous scientific, artistic, and professional events throughout the year, but also hosts a high volume of event requests from both within and outside the university. Through seminars, symposia, conferences, and exhibitions, the Faculty continues to serve as an important hub for academic and professional communities; this strong interest stands as a tangible indicator of the institutional trust placed in our Faculty.

This strong identity and the achievements attained are the product of the joint efforts of our country’s most distinguished students and researchers, alongside the qualified academic staff of our Faculty of Architecture, which is integrated with the ITU brand. More importantly than all, they are a reflection of the gracious support shown by our Nation and State to our university and faculty, as well as the high-quality contributions our graduates provide to our country. This deep-rooted accumulation of knowledge and experience constitutes an invaluable legacy for us as members, students, and alumni of the ITU Faculty of Architecture, and an indispensable source of value and strength for our country.

Sincerely