Peter Eisenman discusses his Yenikapi project with Gokhan Avcioglu

On August 12, the GAD Foundation hosted the famed architect and Yale professor, Peter Eisenman for an online celebration of his 88th birthday and discussion with Gokhan Avcioglu of his competition-winning project for the Yenikapi Theodosius harbor site in Istanbul. Eisenman explained the process of design from 2012 and its inspiration from the syncopated rhythm of bays found in the Hagia Sofia. Eisenman and Avcioglu discussed the present and possible future scenarios for the site on the Sea of Marmara dating from the Bronze Age. Adding to the discussion was a reference to Leon Battista Alberti’s injunction to think, design, and build, Eisenman concluded that to teach and to publish must also fall within the scope of architectural practice today.