The awards of the DASK Earthquake-Resistant Building Design Competition, which aims to train the architects and civil engineers of the future with earthquake awareness, were presented for the 7th time. At the award ceremony, hosted by Hasan Kalyoncu University and attended by Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek and Hasan Kalyoncu University Board of Trustees Deputy Chair Haluk Kalyoncu, Altınbaş University won first prize and received its award plaque from Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek. In the competition, Gebze Technical University won second prize and Istanbul Technical University won third prize.
At the ceremony, in addition to the Türk Reasürans Special Award, six more special awards were presented. Hacettepe University won the Best Architecture Special Award, Altınbaş University the Best Earthquake Performance Special Award, Adana Alparslan Türkeş Science and Technology University the Türk Reasürans Special Award, Erzurum Technical University the Best Communication Skills and Presentation Special Award, and Sakarya University the Best Social Media Use Team Award, while Yıldız Technical University won the Competition Spirit Award, determined by the votes of the competition participants, and MEF University won the Most Creative Project Name Award.
LEARNING TO LIVE WITH THE REALITY OF EARTHQUAKES IS ALL OF OUR DUTY
Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek, who attended the DASK Earthquake-Resistant Building Competition Award Ceremony, drew attention to the fact that learning to live with the reality of earthquakes is a civic duty and continued his remarks as follows: “From seven to seventy, it is now more important than ever that every segment of society takes the necessary responsibility in the fight against earthquakes and that we look after one another in a spirit of solidarity. I believe that by acting together, as a nation, we can overcome every difficulty and build safe tomorrows. I also greet with love, respect and pride all my student friends who feel this responsibility in their hearts, who take responsibility for their country, for themselves and for the future of 85 million people, who have toiled for months and who stand behind their efforts here today.”
145 STUDENTS IN 24 TEAMS REACHED THE FINAL
Hasan Kalyoncu University Board of Trustees Deputy Chair Haluk Kalyoncu, stating that they experienced the deep and inexpressible sorrow of losing relatives, students and graduates in the 6 February earthquake, said: “Considering our country’s geographical location, ensuring that our citizens have the right to live in safe buildings against the risk of earthquakes, strengthening existing buildings and designing sustainable buildings are of great importance for the safety and welfare of our society. We aim to offer the contributions of knowledge and science to reduce the losses that earthquakes will cause. We emphasise that building the foundations of structures on an educational basis, analysing the soundness of tests of these standards, and having them applied by all stakeholders should be given importance. I would like to underline that our 145 students in 24 teams, including teams from Hasan Kalyoncu University, Istanbul Technical University, Izmir Institute of Technology, Karadeniz Technical University, Middle East Technical University, Yıldız Technical University and Uludağ University, reached the final, combining their valuable efforts with dedication, and gave us hope with their courage.”
MY BELIEF IS ENDLESS THAT THE COMPETITION WILL GUIDE YOU IN YOUR CAREER JOURNEY
Türk Reasürans General Manager Selva Eren, stating that they share the excitement of young architect and civil engineer candidates turning the theoretical knowledge they have gained throughout university into practice through this competition, said: “Whatever result you achieved in the DASK Earthquake-Resistant Building Design Competition, my belief is endless that both your preparation process and what you learned at the final meetings will guide you in your career journey. I thank each of you for your valuable participation and dedicated work, and I wish you success.”
WE GIVE GREAT IMPORTANCE AND SUPPORT TO SCIENTIFIC WORK ON EARTHQUAKE ISSUES
Hasan Kalyoncu University Rector Prof. Dr. Türkay Dereli, for his part, stated that, as Hasan Kalyoncu University, with all its academic units, particularly the Department of Civil Engineering and the Department of Architecture, within a vision of sustainability, they equip all their students with the most up-to-date knowledge on subjects such as earthquake engineering, earthquake awareness, earthquake safety, earthquake preparedness, living with the reality of earthquakes and disaster management, and that they also give great support to scientific research in these fields.
In the Earthquake-Resistant Building Design Competition, held at Hasan Kalyoncu University in Gaziantep over four days for architecture and civil engineering students of universities in Türkiye, the 24 teams that passed the preliminary rounds turned their designs into building models in the final stage and exhibited them to the jury members. The building models were evaluated by testing them on a shaking table that simulates earthquakes. The models that passed the earthquake test without collapsing were also evaluated according to economic scoring and aesthetic scoring criteria.
