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Global Design Forum Istanbul is a new design event that took place in the Turkish capital from May 13-16. The event was organised by Global Design Forum, the thought leadership programme of the London Design Festival in the UK, and People Places Ideas (PPI), a creative industries platform based in Istanbul, London and Doha, which works across creative strategy, design curation and research. The collaboration produced a citywide programme of installations, panel discussions and keynote speeches which transformed Istanbul’s landscape over four days, bringing together dynamic Turkish and global voices in the fields of design, architecture, technology, culture, academia, civic leadership and more.
Who are the design experts behind the event?
Artist and designer Melek Zeynep Bulut serves as Artistic Director, working alongside London Design Festival and Global Design Forum founder Ben Evans. Beatrice Galilee, Forum Content Advisor, has shaped the Forum talks programme, whose theme is Worlds in Contact, while Beral Madra acts as Art & Culture Advisor, and Celâleddin Çelik is Architectural Advisor.
What themes does the event explore?
Marking the Global Design Forum’s transition to a global platform for cultural exchange, the event explores how design can thrive in a world beset by challenges – in terms of climate, migration, technology and more. It also seeks to foreground Istanbul’s cultural heritage as a place where different histories and ideas collide. “Istanbul’s unique position at the crossroads of cultures makes it an inspiring setting to explore how design can respond to global challenges while celebrating local identity,” says Evans. Bulut adds that Istanbul’s status as “one of the most idiosyncratic cities in the world… whose boundaries can never be defined” has led to a focus on deliberately contrasting ideas, with the programme representing a “performance in the city”.
The Forum talks
The Forum talks programme takes place in the historic surroundings of the Topkapi Palace complex, within the Hagia Irene courtyard. Installations are citywide and in key corners of the historic peninsula, notably as part of Istanbullar: Design Route, which brings together 40 art and design works by Turkish creatives. These are arranged as what Bult describes as “a map to the city, an archive of its creativity, and a platform for storytelling”. For future editions Ben Evans told AD that he has his mind on China as a future destination. In the afterglow of a groundbreaking Design Shanghai and with Chinese designers wanting to reclaim their centuries of artisanal heritage from industrial complexes, we were excited by the prospect.
Highlights of the Forum talks programme
The programme featured a diverse mix of regional and global voices, and examines what it means to design in a changing world which is navigating overlapping crises of ecology, technology, migration and inequality. Fashion designer and artist Hussein Chalayan’s presented a keynote speech discussing his varied practice; Lebanese-French architect Lina Ghotmeh in conversation with British designer Tom Dixon, focused on shifting values in the design industry; and The Museum Has Left The Building, gave an exploration of how museums might look in the future, with a panel of architects, artists and curators.
Installation Highlights
Pavilion of the Moment
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setting new trends for interiors
London studio Waugh Thistleton Architects’ Pavilion of the Moment formed part of the Praise of Transience theme developed by Bulut, and was installed next to the Hagia Irene in Topkapi Palace. Composed of slender pine boards, it abstracts the relationship between cube and sphere and forms an ethereal contrast to the surrounding monumental buildings. Like all installations, it was produced locally, and that is something that Turkey prides itself on. As Ben Evans told AD, “In the UK we’ve become a service economy; we hardly make anything anymore. Turkey still has a strong craft and manufacturing culture, and that matters for design.”
The Istanbullar design route connects visitors with local talents and creative places: Emin Barın, in the Barın Han building, is the studio of one of Turkey’s most important calligraphers, and held live demonstrations of bookbinding; artist Burçak Bingöl presented Hatayi, an artwork inspired by Topkapi Palace tiles, at her studio; and at Zeyek Çinili Hamam you can see a 500-year-old bath restored with a purpose-built museum by architect Mimar Sinan. When AD asked the forum's chairman, Ben Evans, about why Istanbul was a choice this year his response was crystal clear. “The geopolitics of the world have shifted eastwards, and Istanbul, with its centuries of development and exchange, should be one of the pivotal creative bases in the region.”
Yakîn
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Yakîn, presented at the Topkapı Palace Complex, was one of the more spiritual and inwardly focused installations at Global Design Forum Istanbul. Designed by YAKIN Kolektif with Dr. Nil Aynalı, Furkan Türkyılmaz and Muhammed Arif Aksu, the project explored space through Islamic mysticism, using layered silk curtains to shift visitors from the noise and movement of the city into a more introspective environment.
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The installation worked because of its simplicity. As visitors moved inward, the fabric became denser and more still, eventually leading to a mirrored core at the centre of the space. Rather than acting as a dramatic visual gesture, the mirror turned the focus back onto the individual, proving the installation’s idea that space is something experienced internally rather than physically defined.
Unlike many immersive installations that rely on showmanship, Yakîn felt dignified and meaningful. Its strength came from atmosphere, creating a rare moment of stillness within the wider energy of the forum.
Oblique Land
Oblique Land, created by Alper Derinboğaz and Salon Architects, was one of the strongest examples of how Global Design Forum Istanbul used installation design to rethink public space. Positioned on the Bosphorus-facing grounds of Kabataş High School, the installation's sloped surface subtly forced visitors to adjust their balance, movement and perspective while looking out across the Bosphorus. That shift in body position changed the way the landscape was experienced, making the act of viewing feel more conscious. What made Oblique Land effective was its clarity. The intervention was minimal, but it successfully reconnected the site to Istanbul’s historic topography and hillside relationship to the water.
Wall | Tribune | Gate
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Designed by Ali Derya Dostoğlu and Uğur Özer, this installation was one of the most historically grounded installations at Global Design Forum Istanbul. Located along the entrance axis of the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, the temporary structure drew directly from the buried remains of the ancient Hippodrome’s tribune, reconnecting the site with layers of Istanbul’s Roman and Byzantine past.
What made the installation effective was its balance between archaeology and public interaction. Rather than treating history as something distant or symbolic, the project translated archaeological measurements into a functional spatial experience. By slightly elevating visitors above ground level, the structure reframed views toward the surrounding architecture, particularly the façade of İbrahim Paşa Palace.
The central opening between the seating elements was a particularly smart gesture. Aligned with the museum’s exit axis, it created both a visual threshold and a pause within the installation, turning circulation into something deliberate and reflective. Wall | Tribune | Gate succeeded because it avoided nostalgia; instead, it made the city’s buried history physically readable again.
The Red Room
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Designed by NUN Architecture in collaboration with People Places Ideas, the entrance of Hagia Irene was transformed into one of the forum’s most atmospheric spaces. Wrapped in translucent red material inspired by the warm ochre tones of traditional yalıs and historic timber houses, the installation created a striking dialogue between the ancient stone structure and Istanbul’s more recent architectural identity.
What made the project memorable was its use of light and colour. As daylight filtered through the fabric, the entire space was washed in deep red tones, altering perception and creating an almost cinematic atmosphere. The glow extended beyond the installation itself, subtly drawing visitors inward and turning the entrance into a sensory threshold rather than a point of circulation.
Unlike many heritage interventions that feel overly cautious, The Red Room confidently introduced a contemporary layer into a historic site without overpowering it. The installation succeeded because it treated Hagia Irene not as a living experience and not just a stagnant monument.
Patterns of Possibilities v2
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Created by Candaş Şişman, this digital installation was one of the forum’s most ambitious, translating Istanbul into a constantly shifting system of image, sound and data. Inspired by the idea that “there is no such place as Istanbul, there is only knowledge called Istanbul,” the work rejected the notion of the city as fixed or singular, instead presenting it as something continuously rebuilt through memory, perception and chance.
At the centre of the installation was an algorithm generating evolving visual patterns from 2,916 possible combinations. Every six minutes and thirty-nine seconds, the system reset and produced an entirely new sequence, accompanied by an evolving soundscape that gave the work a hypnotic rhythm, mirroring the unpredictability and layered complexity of Istanbul itself.
What made Patterns of Possibilities v2 successful was that it avoided the emptiness often associated with large-scale digital art. Instead of spectacle for spectacle’s sake, the installation used generative systems to reflect how cities are shaped through accumulation, repetition and endless reinterpretation.
For more information on Global Design Forum Istanbul, visit here.
