Architecture(s) & Urban Studies

Istanbul: July 6-8–

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Heritage(s) 2026: Cultural Pasts – Urban Futures–

Highlight Notice: Architecture(s) & Urban Studies

Conference: July 6-8, 2026 | Abstracts: July 30, 2025

Few cities reflect the notion of ‘culture and heritage’ better than Istanbul. Historically seen as the meeting point of Europe and Asia, it remains a site of cultural exchange today. An imperial capital for the Byzantine, Roman and Ottoman Empires, it is renowned for its cultural heterogeneity. One of the most populous and visited cities in the world, it was European Capital of Culture in 2010. With the centre of the city classified a UNESCO World Heritage Site in its own right, it boasts iconic examples of both art and architecture: the Hagia Sofia and the Grand Bazaar being just two of its most celebrated examples. Home to contemporary festivals of music and film, initiatives like the Istanbul Biennial seek to place themselves, and the city, at the high table of contemporary global culture.

Seen through the prism of Istanbul then, the notions of heritage and culture are clearly diverse. This Architecture(s) & Urban Studies strand is part of the 2026 Istanbul Heritage(s) conference ‘Cultural Pasts – Urban Futures’. It is intended to highlight work being done in built environment and spatial design disciplines as it relates to historical contexts and concepts: whether that be cases studies of innovative projects, surveys of critical questions in the field, examples of recent or completed research projects, or discussions on teaching and learning in the sector.

Held in the historic city of Istanbul, examples of the themes it is interested in include, but are not limited to: architectural design, landscape architecture, urban design & planning, regional planning, landscape architecture, environmental design, and more.

Co-organised by AMPS and the Işık University.

More details:

Critical Heritages

Interdisciplinary:

The conference forms part of the AMPS Critical Heritages initiative that straddles two of its research programs: The Mediated City and Critical Futures. Under the remit of the Mediated City, AMPS explores how technologies and medias inform the built environment – as both sites of exploration and documentation. Under the remit of Critical Futures, we critique questions of cultures, communities and a range of social issues, people and place. Examples include gentrification, social inclusion in sites of heritage and sustainable development, of both heritage and non-heritage sites globally.

In bringing together strands of thinking in these areas under the Critical Heritages Initiative, we seek to function as a site for exploration, knowledge exchange and the generation of new insights into questions of heritage from an interdisciplinary perspective. Examples of disciplines that have participated include:

Publications

Research + Publication Program

The Critical Heritages program draws upon the AMPS publication network based on the journal and book series with several international publishing houses:

In addition, the work of researchers is shared through the AMPS Academic YouTube channel, its series of international conferences and its associated proceedings publications.

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Sample Books

The Space of Image: Architectural Experience through Media. (eds) Gul Kacmaz Erk, Nic Theo, June Jordaan. Intellect Books, 2025
Narrating the City: Mediated Representations of Architecture, Urban Form and Social Life. (ed) Ayşegül Akçay Kavakoğlu. Intellect Books, 2023
Urban Histories in Practice: Morphologies and Memory. (eds) Jeffrey Kruth & Steven Rugare. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2022
Participatory Practice in Space, Place, and Service Design: Questions of Access, Engagement and Creative Experience. (ed) Kelly L. Anderson. Vernon Press, 2022
Place-Based Sustainability: Research and Design Extending Pathways for Ecological Stewardship. (ed) Jason Montgomery. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2022
The Complex City: Social and Built Approaches and Methods. (ed) Caroline Donnellan. Vernon Press, 2021
Critical Practices in Architecture: The Unexamined. (eds) Jon Bean, Susannah Dickinson, Aletheia Ida. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2020
Designing for Health & Wellbeing: Home, City, Society. (eds) Matthew Jones, Louis Rice, Fidel Meraz. Vernon Press, 2019
From Conflict to Inclusion in Housing. (eds) Graham Cairns, Georgios Artopoulos, Kirsten Day. UCL Press, 2017
Housing the Future – Alternative Approaches for Tomorrow. (eds) Rachel Isaac-Menard and Graham Potts. Libri Publishing, 2016
Design for a Complex World: Challenges in Practice and Education. (ed) Graham Cairns. Libri Publishing, 2015

Sample Journal Special Issues

Histories of Health. Architecture_MPS ISSN 2050-9006. Vol 24 Nos.1-4. 2023
Art, Space and Activism. Architecture_MPS ISSN 2050-9006. Vol 20 Nos.1-4. 2021
Decolonising the Curriculum. Architecture_MPS ISSN 2050-9006. Vol 21 Nos.1-4. 2022
Art, Image & Place. Architecture_MPS ISSN 2050-9006. Vol 20 Nos.1-4. 2021
Re-Design Teaching Design. Architecture_MPS ISSN 2050-9006. Vol 18 Nos.1-4. 2020.

Sample Conferences

Urban Futures – Cultural Pasts. Barcelona. Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. 15-17 July, 2024
Local Culture – Global Spaces. Virtual. University of Melbourne, Louisiana State University, Chinese University of Hong Kong. 05-07 Dec, 2023
Heritages – Prague. Czech Republic. Czech Technical University. 28-30 June, 2023
Representing Pasts – Visioning Futures. Virtual. Queen’s University Belfast | Cape Peninsula University of Technology | National University of Singapore, 1-3 Dec. 2022
Intangible Heritages. University of Kent. Canterbury. 15-17 June, 2022
Connections: Heritage, Architecture, Cities. University of Kent. Canterbury. 28-30 June, 2020
Tangible-Intangible Heritage(s). University of East London. 13-15 June, 2018

Books | Journal | Proceedings | YouTube | Conferences

To participate:

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