Aysegül Dinccag Kahveci

Shortbio

  • Born in 1985 in Istanbul.
  • Architecture studies, Universität der Künste Berlin, 2004–2010
  • Diploma thesis, 2010: The History of “Gecekondu” in Turkey – An Alternative Design Proposal for the Social and Architectural Transformation of the Informal Settlement “Karanfilköy” in Istanbul as Part of Urban Renewal Initiatives
  • Participation in urban renewal projects in Istanbul, 2011
  • Collaborator in various architectural offices in Berlin, since 2012
  • Member of the Berlin Chamber of Architects, freelance architect, since 2014
  • Design Thinking, DSchool, Hasso-Plattner-Institut, Potsdam, 2015–2016
  • Co-founder of the Luftmenschen Collective, 2016
  • Founder of the screen printing studio Das Papel Studio, Berlin, 2017–2019
  • Member of the DFG Research College 2227 Identity and Heritage, 2019–2023
  • Completed PhD, Dr. des. (summa cum laude), 2025
  • Currently: Research Associate at the TAM Museum (tam-museum.org)

Contact

ayseguldinccag[at]gmail.com

Re-Claiming the Localities of Imbros: The Role of ‘Heritage’ in the Reconstruction of Local Houses in Gökçeada

Re-Claiming the Localities of Imbros: The Role of ‘Heritage’ in the Reconstruction of Local Houses in Gökçeada investigates the spatial and social processes unfolding on the island of Imbros/Gökçeada, where members of the displaced Greek community have begun to return and rebuild their family homes after decades of enforced displacement. While reconstruction might appear to be a question of architecture or technical conservation, this study demonstrates that rebuilding is a deeply social and material practice shaped by contested histories, displacement, bureaucracy, memory, and geopolitical change.

The research pursues two central aims. First, it situates heritage as a relational phenomenon, embedded in wider socio-political, historical, and material contexts. Second, it problematizes conservation regulations that restrict the ongoing adaptation of vernacular homes in Greek villages, questioning how these regulatory frameworks intersect with lived practices of return. In doing so, the study shifts scholarly attention from static, typological understandings of vernacular architecture to an analysis of heritage as a material-discursive practice that unfolds in the present.

Methodologically, the project combines architectural analysis with ethnographic fieldwork, archival research, and critical heritage theory to capture the evolving and multi-layered processes of reconstruction. This interdisciplinary approach reflects a broader move within the humanities and design disciplines toward relational, people-centered understandings of space and heritage.

By reframing vernacular houses as dynamic infrastructures of negotiation and adaptation rather than relics of a lost past, the dissertation contributes to critical heritage studies, architecture, and debates on sustainability, identity, and belonging. Though grounded in the specific context of Imbros/Gökçeada, its insights resonate widely with other post-conflict and displaced settings where heritage, home, and spatial justice are contested.

Publications (Selected)

  • Vogl, J., Dinççağ Kahveci, A., Gegidze, M., & Santacana López, P. (2025). Dinge, die verbinden (Vol. 5). Bauhaus-Universitätsverlag. DOI: 10.25643/dbt.59542.
  • Dinççağ Kahveci, A. (2024). “The ‘Museum House’ Phenomenon of Imbros: Unofficial Heritage Practices of Seasonal Returnees in Imbros/Gökçeada.” In Sezer, Ö., Egbers, V. (Eds.), The Making of Identity through Rural Space. Birkhäuser Verlag. DOI: 10.1515/9783035627909-006
  • Dinççağ Kahveci, A., et al. (2023). Censored?: Conflicted Concepts of Cultural Heritage (Vol. 4).  Bauhaus-Universität Verlag. DOI: 10.25643/bauhaus-universitaet.4927.
  • Dinççağ Kahveci, A. (2022). “The Appropriation of Traditional Houses of Imbros/Gökçeada.” In HERITAGE2022 Proceedings of the International Conference on Vernacular Heritage: Culture, People and Sustainability. DOI: 10.4995/heritage2022.2022.15722.
  • Full publication list available on request or via ResearchGate [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ayseguel-Kahveci-2]

Presentations in Conferences (Selected)

  • 2025 – Lecture of the DFG Research Training Group ‘Identity and Heritage’ (TU Berlin) – ‘Heritage-making as an Act of Resistance’ [EN]
  • 2024 – 36th CIHA Congress (Lyon) – Rethinking the Role of Ruins in Heritage-making [EN]
  • 2023 – VI CHAM Conference (Lisbon) – Contested Heritage Communities of Imbros/Gökçeada [EN]
  • 2023 – DKG’23 – 62. Deutsche Kongress für Geographie (Frankfurt) – August in Imbros/Gökçeada: Heimkehr von der imbrischen Diaspora-Gemeinde [DE]
  • 2022 – ACHS 6th International Conference of Critical Heritage Studies (Santiago de Chile) – From Imbros to Gökçeada: Heritage Practices in the Reconstruction of Local Houses [EN]
  • 2022 – HERITAGE2022 International Conference (Valencia) – The Appropriation of Traditional Houses in Imbros/Gökçeada [EN, paper, poster]
  • 2022 – 14th Manifesta Biennial (Pristina) – Panel speaker: Negotiating Storytelling: Heritage Constructs as Contested Narrative Devices [EN]
  • 2021 – BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg International Symposium (Online) – The “Müze Ev” of Imbros: Unofficial Heritage Practices of Seasonal Returnees [EN, paper]
  • 2020 – ACHS 5th Biennial Conference (Online) – Local Identity in a Global Age: Case Study of Imbros [EN, poster]
  • Full list of presentations available upon request