Uncomfortable Answers in Architecture

Let me say at the beginning what is usually said at the end:

Students of the world, unite!

What follows is an account of why we have been forced to arrive at this point.

When an individual is left at the mercy of authority, they cannot hold it accountable; when they are not represented, they cannot defend themselves. At the university—particularly in the architecture studio—the relationship between student and instructor is built precisely on this ground. On the surface, there is an exchange of knowledge; in reality, power relations are what determine everything.

In this system, instructor and student are structurally positioned against one another. The education system does not construct the student as a questioning subject, but as an obedient, monitored, and measurable object. As the student becomes more individualized, they also become more isolated; and as isolation increases, so does vulnerability in the face of authority. Psychologically, this becomes difficult to bear. If a student is frightened when an instructor raises their voice in the studio, what they fear is not the volume of that voice. What they fear is the possibility that the authority behind it could cause real harm to their life.

This form of relationship, even without explicitly demanding obedience, produces an environment where not objecting is learned. At the university, this environment becomes institutionalized and continues. All of us have passed through this process: a system in which questioning is discouraged and speaking out is punished. Today, we live in a time where those who add titles before their names can easily erase others. In such a rigid and hierarchical educational structure, students can neither organize nor represent themselves individually; their representation is either entirely eliminated or confined within boundaries drawn by others.

This issue is not unique to architectural education. The dominant education systems in Turkey and across the world operate according to the same logic. Existing to preserve the status quo, these systems claim to “educate” students while in reality disciplining them, forcing them into line, and rendering them dependent—a structure of constraint. One of the rare positive elements within this structure is egalitarian and enlightened academics. Yet even they are often trapped between the values they defend and the institutions to which they are bound. The real issue is not that instructors and students are two opposing sides, but the failure to recognize them as two subjects who could meet on common values.

Raised with the promise of “go to university and secure a good job,” we were threatened through imaginary scores that hold almost no real value in our lives. Even if we did not experience this personally, the system has repeatedly shown us the same message: If you have a problem with me, I will burn you. In 2026, education has still been reduced to nothing more than carrot and stick.

No matter how it is explained, one truth remains unchanged: in a system we believe represents and protects us, we are in fact alone. Individuals who cannot demonstrate market power—through family, money, or political status—remain defenseless within this order. This is why we hesitate to ask uncomfortable questions; this is why voices are so easily silenced. The system prefers to punish individuals one by one, while choosing to ignore crowds.

Yet the moment students realize that they are the majority in the classroom, the picture changes. When a student understands they are not alone, they also realize they can stand not only against an instructor, but against rectors, administrations, and the entire academic hierarchy. Power does not reside in the individual; it resides in unity. Looking at the studio, one unchanging fact remains: we are not equal, and students are left at the mercy of authority. My fellow student, what you are experiencing is only the beginning of the game. They cannot make you accept outside what they have not first imposed on you inside the school. This system does not exist to teach you anything, to make your life more meaningful, or to set you free.

We already know all of this. Even if we don’t fully know it, we feel it. There is no need to overcomplicate the matter: there is only one realistic way to confront this system.

To come together.

To ask uncomfortable questions together, and to give uncomfortable answers together. Because in this system, the student has no ally other than the student.