From June 21 to 28, 2025, the “International Summer School: Architectural Design within Heritage Context” took place in the village of Mustafapaşa (Sinasos), Ürgüp, in the heart of Cappadocia—an area of extraordinary geological, cultural, and architectural value. Organized as a design workshop, the summer school brought together students and faculty from Bilkent University’s Department of Architecture (BUDA) and Sapienza Roma University, Department of Civil, Buiding and Environmental Engineering (DICEA), engaging participants in a week-long exploration of heritage-sensitive design within one of Turkey’s most iconic and vulnerable landscapes.

The program was jointly led by Özge Selen Duran and Giorgio Gasco (BUDA) with Rüya Uzun, and by Anna Bruna Menghini and Maria Argenti (DICEA) alongside Serena Cecchetti, Alessandra Marino, Filippo Montorsi, Leonardo Rizzi, and Emiliano Zandri. Through a combination of lectures, fieldwork, and design exercises, the workshop addressed the challenges posed by mass tourism, material degradation, and cultural continuity in the region. Students from both institutions collaborated on site-responsive design proposals that aimed to preserve the identity of the local built environment while imagining sustainable futures.

The opening session of the summer school was held on June 23 at Oktay Sinanoğlu Conference Hall on Cappadocia University’s Mustafapaşa Campus. Welcoming speeches were delivered by Prof. Dr. Ayşe Çakır İlhan (Dean of the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture) and Prof. Dr. Hasan Ali Karasar (Rector of Cappadocia University). Assistant Professor Giorgio Gasco (Bilkent University) introduced the aims and structure of the summer school, followed by a series of guest lectures. Speakers included Şükran Ünser (Director of the Research Center for Cappadocian Studies – KAM), conservation architect Aslı Özbay, and Prof. Önder Aydın (Gazi University), who provided critical insights into the architectural history, conservation practices, and design potentials of the region.

Through its collaborative and interdisciplinary format, the summer school not only enriched the academic experience of its participants but also contributed to a broader discourse on architectural design in culturally sensitive contexts.