In “Architectural Surveying Summer Practice” freshman students of METU Faculty of Architecture are expected to learn the basics of research and documentation of, a historical context's natural and man made components by participating in hands-on activities. In 2007-2008 Summer semester the project site is choosen as Abdalhasan Village in Kastamonu. During the course of the summer practice students attended various activities such as; topography survey with optical instruments, preperation of the site plan and documentation of plans and elevations of traditional buildings by an integrated method of various documentation techniques. The summer practice was conducted in three parts which are; informing of students on various documentation methods before going to the site, a ten day study on the site for preperation of the site plan and documentation of buildings, and the third part is the studio work where students produced required drawings based on the information gathered on site. The practice was coordinated by; Assoc. Prof. Güven Arif Sargin, Assist. Prof. Mine Özkar, Assist. Prof. Güliz Bilgin Altinöz. Theorotical and technical information was given by; Assoc. Prof. Emre Madran, Assist. Prof. Güliz Bilgin Altinöz, Assist. Prof. Mine Özkar, Inst. Fuat Gökçe, Part-Time Inst. Tugrul Kanik, Part-Time Inst. Hasan Saltik. Practice on site was conducted by; Assoc. Prof. Emre Madran, Part-Time Inst. Tugrul Kanik, Photogrametry Specialist Kemal Gülcen, Res. Assist. Pinar Aykaç, Res. Assist. Sermin Çakici, Res. Assist. Gülsah Çelik, Res. Assist. Nursen Kul, Res. Assist. Nida Nayci. Studio works were conducted by; Res. Assist. Özlem Karakul, Res. Assist. Gökçe Simsek Kuran, Res. Assist. Mert Nezih Rifaioglu. Detailed information and products of the practice can be found in the catalog published by METU Faculty of Architecture Press Workshop, 2008.

2008 |CONSTRUCTION WORKSHOP at G.Ü.

The Arch 190 summer practice 2008, was conducted in the Woodwork and Masonry workshops of the Department of Building Technologies at Gazi University’s Beşevler Campus in Ankara.One of the two weeks was spent in the wood-work workshop, where the students learnt how to use the electric machines and manual tools; the second week was spent in the concrete and masonry workshop where the students learnt how to handle concrete reinforcement, brickwork and concreting. Asst. Prof. Dr. Ayşe Tavukçuoğlu and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Soofia Tahira Elias-Ozkan, together with research assitants; Meltem Anay, Çağrı Çakır, Duygu Kaçar, Göze Akoğlu, Gökhan Kınayoğlu, Güler Özyıldıran, Özgecan Canarslan, Ceren Katipoğlu, Başak Uçar, Zehra Çakıcı, Esin Kömez, Tolga Özden, from METU were responsible for the overall supervision of the summer practice course, and the instructions and guidance during the practical training were offered by the staff at Gazi University. Thanks are due to to Prof. Dr. Metin Arslan, Head of the Construction EducationDepartment at Gazi Üniversity, for his collaboration and to his staff-members Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yılmaz Aruntaş, Asst. Prof. Dr. Osman Şimşek, Assoc. Prof. Dr.Hanifi Tokgöz, Instr. Dr. Ahmet Gökdemir, Mr. Ziya Korkmaz and Mr. Nail Dumanlar, for conducting the course; to Prof. Dr. Ali Ihsan Unay for establishing initial contact with GÜ; and finally to our sponsors Architect Ümit Sırdaş, Can Ateş(Polo Sigorta), Melih Akozden (Demetaş) and Nurhan Nazli (Nazli Lojistik), for their financial and proffessional supports.

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.