Episode Transcript
Femininity is powerful in all its forms, exceptional women, rare girls must be appreciated in every
way for their perspectives, actions, thoughts, and their unique ways of being.
But rare girls are inspiring and this is what this podcast is all about.
Hello my name is Aziz and my guest today is Yasemin Össüt.
Yasemin is a senior student of architecture at Istanbul Kültür University in Turkey.
Yasemin had multiple hobbies in the past in different fields including tennis, piano,
and fitness.
Yasemin improves herself by reading books and articles on psychology, philosophy, and
architecture because these topics fascinate her.
Yasemin has been enjoying writing since she was a kid and so she is a freelance writer
because she has developed this skill.
In the summer of 2022, Yasemin and her friends completely renovated a village school within
our organization they have founded called Effective Architects.
Apart from that, she loves spending time with the people she adores, discovering new places,
enjoying art, or spending time alone with a good coffee.
Yasemin, how are you today?
Hi Aziz, thank you, I'm good, hope you are good too.
And thank you for having me in this enjoyable podcast.
It is my privilege, my honor, and I will enjoy this time getting to know more about you so
I will begin with this nice question.
If your friends could describe your personality, what would they say about you?
Well, that's the case that I always think about and it's a topic that I generally get
similar answers when I ask my friends.
Basically I'm a very friendly and extrovert person and it gives me peace of mind, I can
say.
And I think everyone has something about themselves that they like and proud of.
And minus that, I think my communication with people is strong and effective.
And with this aspect, I can express myself well and this gives me a great comfort in
many areas.
And the people around me enjoy communicating with me and sharing their thoughts safely.
Other than that, when I don't hide under my quilt and hate the whole world, I'm energetic
and happy with small things.
And I share this energy with those around me.
Also, if it makes me tired sometimes, they said that I have a leader and organizer side.
And I think I can adapt to any situation and environment so my friends generally feel good
with me, I hope.
Thank you.
So you're friendly, you all have effective communication skills, you're extroverted,
you share good energy when you're in good mood with others, you're helpful, you know
how to be a good leader in many, many ways.
And it seems to me that a lot of this is related to people.
So I guess people are a fascinating and interesting topic for you.
But I'll begin it in this way.
When you chose architecture, how was this related somehow to your extroverted side or
your effective communication or your love for people so that architecture helps you
do something for people that you enjoy and that fulfills you deeply?
So that's my favorite question.
And being an architect was my childhood dream since I was four years old.
And before that, I wanted to be a better dancer, but things have changed.
And as I explained before, it was my dream to gather many different subjects and disciplines
in one field and call it a profession.
And architecture was one of the professions where I felt this feeling most intensely.
Knowing that I will be interested in many fields such as communication skills, as you
said, aesthetic perception, maybe problem solving, and also three dimensional thinking,
human behavior and psychology and arts in my professional life as well as in my student
lives gives me peace of mind.
And one of my biggest dreams is to be able to design many innovative spaces for someone
or a purpose and to grasp the design discipline and integrate it into my life and to be a
good and creative architect, actually.
And I think you never know what life will bring.
And being an architect is one of my biggest dreams and passions.
But in the future, my dreams may turn.
And therefore, I don't want to set a very definite future scenario for myself.
And the only thing I know will not change is to always be a happy person who has not
lost her sense of satisfaction and gratitude, I can say.
I love that.
And I'm really curious about the effect of the culture in Turkey.
And it's a really, really long culture that is rich and full of history and architectural
inspirations and things like that.
So I'll ask it in two ways.
One, you as a Turkish girl, what does that mean in 2022?
Are you more cosmopolitan, influenced by American culture with Hollywood, by Western Europe
and dreams of Paris, by Korea and K-pop and the Japanese culture, and therefore, you're
more a citizen of the world?
Or what is now the culture of a Turkish girl in 2022?
As well as how does the influence of the Turkish culture affect you as an architect?
First of all, I'm proud to be a Turkish girl and I love my country very much.
And there are very good lessons and features I've learned from my country and the society
I live with.
And it is one of my biggest goals to keep them alive and convey them to my environment
and my future.
Apart from this, of course, there are beautiful teachings that I have read, learned and seen
from other countries.
But I have never been a fan of a single thought or a single trends.
I can say that I try to collect anything that will be good for myself and the world from
wherever I find it.
As for the architectural part, I feel very lucky as an architect candidate who was born
and grew up in Turkey.
Since my childhood, walking the streets of Istanbul has always made me feel like a discoverer.
Every district of Istanbul has a different texture and a different life.
For example, when you move from one district to another, you may even feel as if you have
changed the country.
And it's a great place to observe and learn about the developments and transformations
in terms of architectural history, as it is in every aspect of history.
And lastly, I feel very lucky and inspired to be able to walk both today and through
the dusty pages of history at the same time.
I love that.
I see your ability for poetic and effective communication and therefore I'll ask you
about your love for art.
What does art give you emotionally?
What kind of art do you prefer?
How do you express your artistic side?
And tell me all about your love for art.
Art is a very comprehensive title for me as it is for most people, I guess, but if I simply
summarize it, I can say that whether it serves a purpose or not, whether it's meant to convey
something or not, the whole of things that are good for and nourish the soul is art.
And when you eat, you feel fulfilled and nourished.
And when you are experiencing a work of art, I feel that my soul and my brain are satiated.
And also not everyone has to find the same feeling and told in a work of art, but anyone
can find a grain of inspiration from that experience.
And therefore art nourishes and nurtures, I think.
And artists are the people I admire and respect most in my life.
And I myself try to embark on this path in fields such as music, about piano, painting
and theater.
But although I was successful, I could not ensure its continuity.
But this has never taken me away from art.
If I can't cook myself, I learn to sing from the outside, I can say.
And I try to visit museums, visit art galleries, follow theater and cinema and attend music
concerts as much as I can.
And maybe that's my kind of therapy.
That sounds like a wonderful therapy and I'm curious about the organization Effective Architects.
How did the idea come to be and how do you view the role of architects outside of architecture?
How can they benefit society in different ways and why?
That's a good question and I think architects are one of the biggest supporters of society.
I'm in favor of not seeing this profession as just sitting in front of a computer and
creating a world with the lines in your hands.
I see it more as developing, transforming and improving the lines of the world and society
you live in.
And particularly at this point, I think participatory architecture is very important.
And I have a good experience on this subject and I would like to share it if it's okay.
As eight architecture students, we established a community called Etkin Mimarlarş and it
means like effective, active architects.
We all wanted to do good works that will benefit someone.
And we designed a village school renovation project by taking the power of design and
architecture, which are the common talents of all of us with us.
And while making these designs, we paid great attention to the ideas and needs of the students
and the teachers in the village school because they were the ones who would live there and
enjoy it.
And in this way, as a result of the long conversations and sharing, we started to create our design
together.
And in cooperation with our school, we found great sponsors and implemented many things
that we designed entirely ourselves in the primary school and kindergarten in the village.
And we made a path to the garden with our own hands, planted many plants and trees,
colored the facades of the kindergarten and primary school buildings according to our
own designs, renovated the playground, set up some small playstations that we specially
designed for these children and collected many toys, books and goods.
And in 12 days, we renovated the entire school.
And like every stage from the design and planning stage to the implementation stage was a very
new and difficult experience for us, for all of us.
But after the renovation work was completed, the smiles and expressions of gratitude on
the children's faces instantly erased all of the difficulties, I can say.
And I can say it was the most meaningful experience in my life.
And we aim to do many more good things like this.
And if you want to support us, you can follow our Instagram account named it can be more
large with double R, maybe if you want.
I can totally imagine that and feel your emotions.
And I thank you and your friends for doing that because it gives hope to the kids and
hopefully they will become future architects inspired by you and the organization.
And since you are in your senior year at university, what are your next plans?
What future do you see for yourself?
Since my childhood, I've been creating many different future scenarios for myself.
Even though it feels stressful for me sometimes, it makes me look to the future with hope.
And the idea of being able to create something and apply it and touch life from one point
of view keeps me alive.
And I'm aware that this can be done in many different ways.
And I realize that the only way to do is not to have a profession.
But I know that there are good things that I can add to life just like every person is.
And I think that architecture will be a good companion for me.
And whatever I design, I wish it could touch someone and have the power to open at least
a new window.
And I believe that I can exist as long as I can.
I can express myself and it's very important for me to be understood.
And I see creating comfortable spaces where other people can interact with each other
and as a step towards that.
So apart from this, although it is one of my biggest passions, architecture is not my
only passion.
I want to discover something new every day and experience the pleasure of being able
to transform with what I have discovered, what I have learned.
And being a happy, grateful person with my loved ones is more important to me than anything
else.
And I try to do my best to be open to challenges and transformations as much as I'm open to
the beauties that life will bring.
And I hope everything will be fine for all of us in the future and for me too.
Thank you so much, Yasemin.
You're someone absolutely kind with a good heart.
I encourage your success, I encourage all your dreams to come true and for you to explore
and discover and change this world.
Thank you again for participating and I wish you a great day.
Thank you so much for this conversation, it's my pleasure.
