The Architect's Chair #2 competition Honorable mention winner - Yusuf Çakar

We’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to the Honorable mention winner of our "The Architect's Chair #2" competition – Yusuf Çakar from Turkey!

Yusuf Çakar

Please tell us about your company (when it was founded, where it is based, how many employees, etc) Alternatively, if you do not have a company, please give us some insights on your own professional/academia background.

I am a Multidisciplinary Designer. I completed my design education in the Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design at Hacettepe University in Turkey. My school followed the Bauhaus school of thought. I can say that I laid the foundation for my holistic approach to design during these years. After graduation, I directed my focus toward Furniture Design, a field I am passionate about, and designed furniture for corporate companies. After 4 years of professional experience, I left my job in July 2024 and started providing design and consulting services as an Independent Multidisciplinary Designer in disciplines such as Graphic Design, Interface Design, Product Design, Interior Design, and Architecture.

Brief information about the projects that you/your company have been involved with. For instance, what scale have you focused on/preferred, any significant projects where the company/ individuals have been Involved?

I think the scales I enjoy designing the most are Product and Spatial scales. When designing on a spatial scale, I prefer to design the furniture myself rather than purchasing it, so I can say that the Industrial Design scale is the one I am most inclined toward. My most valuable project was the Koza Crib I designed for Çilek Mobilya in 2020. This crib was awarded the iF Design Award and the Good Design Award in 2023.

What does architecture mean to you and what is the role of an architect in your society?

For me, architecture is a scale of design. Just as Industrial Design focuses on products that we can hold in our hands, Landscape Architecture is concerned with solving issues on an urban scale and provides solutions at that scale, or just as Graphic Design is inclined to solve problems in two dimensions and meet the needs at that level, Architecture is a design discipline focused on designing objects at a scale that we can enter and move around. In terms of the size and permanence of its outputs, it can be said that Architecture carries a much greater responsibility towards both humans and the environment than disciplines like product design or graphic design. However, at its core, it is the task of addressing a specific need or problem at a particular scale and providing a solution. What sets it apart from any engineering field or from merely “meeting a need” is, of course, the fact that it takes into account the artistic function of the product it creates, as much as its primary function. Because our need to sit was solved centuries ago; we could still be fulfilling our need to sit with a rock or a log dragged into our cave. Yet, when we need to buy a chair today, we spend days searching for the right one, expecting it to resonate with us and to stir something within us.

Why do you participate in architecture competitions?

I think my answer to this question would be something like, “to test myself and get feedback on whether I can do this job well by having my work evaluated by different professionals.” However, at this point in my life, I realize that I participate in competitions where I can find and contribute something of myself. The Architect's Chair competition feels like a summary of my career. I received my design education in Interior Architecture, gained experience in furniture and product design, and advanced my career in that direction. Naturally, this competition gave me a challenging yet enjoyable opportunity to reflect on and express my identity and background through design.

It was very enjoyable to answer the question, “What would it be like if I designed a signature piece of furniture?” While I could have designed many unusual or striking products, the fact that I ended up creating something calm, natural, stable, and focused on its purpose came from a beautiful sense of self-awareness, and I’m very happy about that. What I loved most about the Architect's Chair competition was its ability to provide a platform where designers could create freely without restrictions, expressing themselves fully through their work.

What advice would you give to individuals who struggle to decide whether it would be beneficial for them to participate in architecture competitions?

Unfortunately, none of us can know for sure whether participating will be beneficial. However, setting aside the question of winning an award, I can wholeheartedly say that the opportunity to design freely—without the constraints of any brief, employer, or budget—can have a rewarding, healing, and rejuvenating effect on anyone currently working as a designer.