Emre Gönlügür

Emre Gönlügür serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design at Izmir University of Economics, where he actively contributes to architectural pedagogy and research. With a robust academic foundation spanning multiple disciplines and institutions, he bridges historical scholarship with contemporary design practice through interdisciplinary collaborations.

Education is foundational to his expertise, reflected in his comprehensive academic journey:

• PhD in Art History, University of Toronto (2014), dissertation on American architectural influence in postwar Turkey
• Master's in Architectural History, University College London, Bartlett School of Architecture (theatre architecture in 19th-century London)
• Master's in Urban Design, Middle East Technical University (gated communities in Istanbul)
• Bachelor's in City and Regional Planning, Middle East Technical University (1998)

Research Interests converge at the intersection of emotional history, spatial memory, and architectural culture. His work critically examines Cold War-era architecture, collective memory construction, and Anthropocene-era design imaginaries, with particular focus on 20th-century Turkish urban landscapes. He pioneers methodologies connecting architectural history with emotional geographies, analyzing how spaces become vessels for cultural memory and political contestation through rigorous archival work and cross-disciplinary analysis.

Publication Trends reveal a coherent trajectory from historical analysis toward computational and emotional dimensions of space. His recent scholarship (2020-2025) demonstrates increasing methodological diversity, integrating digital humanities approaches with memory studies to examine sites like Izmir's Kültürpark and the Izmir International Fair. Key thematic threads include the emotional navigation of urban modernity, circular design principles, and the therapeutic potential of spatial interventions, reflecting his commitment to socially engaged scholarship that connects historical inquiry with contemporary design challenges.