معرفی
Ezgi Balkanay serves as an Assistant Professor at the School of Architecture within Montana State University's College of Arts and Architecture. Her scholarly work critically engages with architectural history and theory through lenses of spatial justice, postcolonial frameworks, and gendered spatial practices, with particular focus on Turkey and Nepal contexts.
Her educational trajectory includes:
- Ph.D. in Design from North Carolina State University (2023)
- M.Arch. in Architecture from Middle East Technical University (2014)
- B.Arch. in Architecture from Middle East Technical University (2010)
Dr. Balkanay's research interrogates intersections of modernity, informal settlements, and everyday spatial practices. Her investigations into Istanbul's gecekondu (squatter) settlements reveal how housing policies, gender dynamics, and citizenship rights shape urban landscapes. Current projects examine AI's pedagogical applications in design education and cross-cultural analyses of Buddhist temple adaptations in Nepalese squatter communities.
Analysis of her 2018-2024 publications reveals sustained engagement with spatial justice through three thematic clusters: housing modernity in Turkish urbanism (40% of output), postcolonial critiques of informal settlements (30%), and innovative pedagogical frameworks (30%). Her work consistently centers marginalized spatial experiences while bridging architectural history with contemporary social justice concerns.
Her scientific recognition includes:
- Emerging Scholar Award (2024) from The Fifteenth International Conference on The Image
- The Scott Opler Graduate Scholar Fellowship (2022) from Society of Architectural Historians
- Provost Doctoral Fellowship (2016) from North Carolina State University
- CBDX Borderlands-International Design Competition Honorable Mention (2021)
- Graduate Scholar Award (2016) from Space and Flows Conference
Dr. Balkanay mentors students through advanced theory courses (ARCH 526) and design studios (ARCH 355, ARCH 560), while her creative practice extends to exhibitions like 'Where are you from' (2024) at Montana State University and Venice Architecture Biennial participation. Current research examines AI's ethical implementation in non-designer education and comparative analyses of informal settlements across Global South contexts.
