Under the auspices of METU Rectorate, The Department of Architecture Arch 190 Summer Practice has been supervised by Asst. Prof. Dr. Ali Murat Tanyer and Inst. Dr. Halis Günel between July 9th and August 24th, 2007. As part of an ongoing METU project to furnish a monorail system on campus, the summer practice aims at providing a prototype for monorail stations. And thus, its four modules were designed by Asst. Prof. Dr. Berin Gür, Res. Asst. Onur Yüncü and Res. Asst. Gökhan Kınayoğlu, and manufactured by MESA İmalat Sanayii ve Ticaret A.Ş. with the assistance of Erka-As Engineering Firm. The modules were first manufactured at MESA and then constructed in site by the first year students of 90 in two months. The students were supervised by Research Assistants Pınar Aykaç, Özgecan Canarslan, Sermin Çakıcı, Çağrı Çakır, İlkay Dinç and Gökhan Kınayoğlu.

The ARCH 190 summer practice in 2006 is held within the METU Campus, and a “Guard house at Lake Eymir” is designed and built by the first year students. A different pattern is followed in the procurement of the project and not the instructors but the students were expected to make the design. Design period is pursued similar to the design studio courses in the academic year and students worked in groups. Then a competition is held and the winning project is modified and detailed by the students with the help of the tutors.

The basic building materials such as brick, tile and timber are introduced and primary construction techniques are exercised in order to convey the basic theoretical information and hands on experience of building. In the two month summer practice the students are equipped with the totality of the building process from the initial concept design to construction.

Computer Workshop is constructed for the Primary School of Arılı Village, which is located near the small town of Fındıklı, in the province of Rize in Eastern Black Sea Region, by the students of the Department of Architecture in the summer of 2003. The designers of the building and the coordinators of the summer practice are Berin F. Gür and Onur Yüncü. The building is constructed mainly out of timber, which is the local material and donated by the inhabitants of the village. Majority of the construction material is donated by private construction firms and individuals. The work schedule is organized in a way that different work groups can simultaneously act. Students are encouraged to participate in different work groups in order to have the opportunity of observing and experiencing different construction processes and materials. Local craftsmen are the significant actors of the process. The Workshop is officially opened in July 19, 2004. Computers are donated by METU. Providing a unitary, undivided space, the building is being used for diverse activities such as exhibition and library besides being a computer workshop.

Arılı Primary School Computer Workshop is nominated for prize in the category of Living Environment in the 9 th National Awards for Architecture organized by Turkish Chamber of Architects (Section of UIA in Turkey) in 2004.