STATEMENT
As an architect and designer specializing in car and transportation design, I am deeply engaged in envisioning the future of mobility. The exploration of research and future scenarios fascinates me, driving my work to generate new narratives. I have been developing innovative concepts, identifying new design methodologies, and striving for a transdisciplinary vision that fosters greater awareness and understanding of future mobility.
I focus on integrated design within a broader context, combining aesthetic principles with functional solutions. Architecture is central to my work, interwoven with social, personal, and spatial concerns, as I explore alternatives for future living. My research delves into the evolution of human-machine interactions, with a particular emphasis on energy-aware transportation systems and the symbiosis between mobile and immobile elements within the built environment, all toward shaping future city paradigms.
My academic focus spans three key areas: teaching, observation, and research. Teaching will be my primary activity, where I lead briefs and tutor projects from research to initial design. These projects are assessed within open platforms, considering transformable, programmable, and adaptable aspects that prioritize accessibility and sustainability. Design will take center stage, facilitating debates to understand the constraints of developed projects and exploring mobility within diverse environments.
Looking forward, I aim to offer opportunities for collaboration and intellectual exchange in shaping mobility's future. I seek a professional path that emphasizes the core principles of architecture, design, and urbanism supporting my development through teaching, practice, and research. I aspire to gain a deeper understanding of broader issues surrounding future mobility through my specialized disciplines.
I hope to be part of a team that fosters idea exchange and knowledge development. In the future, I envision working with companies, research institutions, and universities in urban studies, drawing from my expertise as an architect, car and transportation designer, urbanist, academic., and utopians.
MOTIVATION
Cars have been a significant part of my life, with my earliest memories of them dating back to before school. My architectural education has significantly shaped my understanding of cars—not only as machines but also as spatial artifacts. Within the intersecting realms of architecture, car design, and music, I often felt like a metal ball, rolling from one side to the other, with each discipline feeding and strengthening the other.
For nearly two decades, I have been sharing my work on my personal website. This platform serves as a synthesis of how an architect thinks about cars, evaluating them as objects and cultural phenomena that intersect with notions of space and design. Cars are mental structures and metaphors that I live in daily and yet feel alienated from whenever I see or think of them. I like and I do not like them at the same time; this website basically aims to convey the tensions of this contradiction.
For my master’s degree in architecture at Istanbul Technical University, I sought to establish a shared purpose between architecture and car design through the spatial dynamics of the modern city. This study provides new insights into the journey of human experience across various spatial and cognitive structures, positioning the car as a cross-section between man, machine, and space.
After completing my second master’s degree in car and transportation design at Scuola Politecnica di Design, SPD Milan, I integrated both architecture and car design into a future mobility context, conducting courses, lectures, and workshops in parallel with applied projects. I am currently expanding this knowledge with my third master’s degree, Critical Urbanisms, in urban studies at the University of Basel, further strengthening my transdisciplinary approach.
THANKS
I owe my deepest gratitude to:
My Father, Muzaffer Tulay (1947-2016) and My Mother, Vahide Tulay, for their everlasting support.
*The content of this online portfolio is dedicated to the cherished memories of my father, Muzaffer Tulay, a talented craftsman, for his warm hand on me during the time we spent together on this earth plane.
And to everyone, we have been together under the sun and shadow.
Engin Tulay