26th Barış Eyikan Kılınç Graduation Project Award

The Barış Eyikan Kılınç Graduation Project Award is the department's long-standing annual prize, given each year to graduating students whose final projects are selected by a jury. It is endowed by the family of Barış Eyikan Kılınç, a cherished former member of the Bilkent LAUD community, in her memory, and closes each cohort's four years of study.

The 2025 jury convened online in June 2025 to evaluate the projects submitted from the LAUD 402 final studio, developed on the city of İskenderun. Before scoring, the jury agreed on a shared rubric, organized under four headings:

• Analysis — sufficiency of spatial analysis and clarity in framing the problem across scales.
• Synthesis — the originality, coherence and depth of the conceptual framework, and its integrity at the urban scale (1/5000).
• Design — the quality of spatial organization from 1/2000 to 1/200, technical accuracy, the legibility of interventions, and the integration of the city's different layers.
• Presentation — a coherent graphic language, a variety of communication techniques, and clarity of expression across scales.

First place — Zeynep Esra Sarı. An original, in-depth conceptual framework carried convincingly across every scale, resting on a strong analytical base and expressed through a spare, masterful graphic language, with its upper-scale, historical narratives and collages particularly admired.

Equal second — Cemile Ceren Sağatlı. An original, deep conceptual framework that reflected into design decisions at every scale, built on solid analysis with legible interventions and a confident reading of the city's layers.

Equal second — İlke Ezgi Ekici. A strong analytical base and an original, clearly framed problem, resolved through successful spatial work across scales; the jury noted the absence of an urban-scale (1/5000) conceptual diagram as its main shortcoming.