Of its place, measured, lasting.

AKSORAN began in 2012 as a small desk opened by two architects in İzmir. Today we are a studio of ten — architects, interior architects, a landscape architect and a conservation specialist. Our size is deliberately small: a founding partner accompanies every project, and every drawing is discussed at the same table before it leaves the studio.

Our name comes from two words: aks, the axis, and oran, the proportion. The axis is the invisible line that sets a building’s structural order; proportion is the measure and balance within that order. We believe a building’s quality usually depends on getting these two right. Showy forms age; a sound axis and good proportion work for centuries.

We begin every project by listening to the site: the path of the sun, the direction of the wind, the slope, the existing trees, the neighbouring buildings and the building culture of the place. We believe a building should belong where it stands; a building that could be anywhere belongs nowhere.

We use materials sparingly and honestly. Stone should look like stone, timber like timber, concrete like concrete; we never use a material to imitate something else. Working with few materials lets each one be detailed well and age gracefully.

And we are on site. We know drawings are half a building; the other half takes shape on site, in the hands of craftsmen. So we follow our projects all the way to handover, working to make sure the building is built as drawn — or better.