The 7.8 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes that hit Southeastern Turkey and Syria on February 6, 2023, officially took an estimated 50–60,000 lives. Entire neighborhoods were destroyed in cities such as Kahramanmaraş, Adiyaman, and Hatay, with more than 160,000 collapsed or severely damaged buildings. The humanitarian crisis facing the region presents immediate aid and disaster relief challenges as well as concerns for long-term, safe, sustainable, and resilient rebuilding efforts.

"Turkey and Syria After the Earthquakes" is a series of four panel discussions curated by CARRRE (Collective Action for Readiness, Recovery, and Resilience), a collective of U.S.-based Turkish-American architects and academics. CARRRE aims to amplify awareness among a global audience regarding the catastrophic repercussions of these earthquakes, and to provide agency to architects, planners, engineers, municipalities, and builders on the ground by assisting with local relief efforts, sharing professional expertise, and aiding in the development of long-term rebuilding strategies. These panels aim to provide an international platform for learning, debate, and actionable projects.

“Mid-Term Relief and Transitional Programs” is the second panel in CARRRE’s four-part series. This panel will examine the challenges that arise from the extended occupancy of temporary disaster shelters, including housing, community spaces, and settlements. The speakers will address conventional post-disaster planning strategies and building techniques, and focus on alternative approaches developed for Turkey and other countries. These approaches will include transitional building techniques in short to mid-term developments, as well as alternate and innovative, traditional building techniques. Special attention will be paid to designs that retain a community’s sense of place and identity within social and environmental ecologies.

Key topics include:

• Alternative and Innovative Building Technologies for Resilience, Transition, and Affordability
• Transitional Building from Short to Mid-Term Developments
• Considerations of Long-Term Planning in Short to Mid-Term Developments
• Defining Communities in Post-Disaster Building

Speakers:
Alp Arisoy, Co-Founder, Urban.koop
James Garrison, AIA, Principal, Garrison Architects; Adjunct Professor, Pratt Institute
Yasmeen Lari, UNESCO Adviser; Executive Director, Heritage Foundation Pakistan
Edward Ng, Ph.D., Professor of Architecture at the Chinese University of Hong Kong

Moderator:
Meltem Şenol Balaban, Associate Professor, Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi / Middle East Technical University (METU)

Co-Host:
Salt (Istanbul) 

Organized by:
AIANY Design for Risk and Reconstruction Committee; AIANY Global Dialogues Committee; AIANY Building Codes Committee; Collective Action for Readiness; Recovery, and Resilience (CARRRE)