Urban Building Energy Performance
The project about the Development of a Hybrid Approach for Urban Building Energy Modeling, led by Dr. Senem Seyis, aims to develop a hybrid modeling approach to better evaluate the energy performance of urban building stocks. Two-year long project started in June 2023 and was conducted on Özyeğin University’s Çekmeköy Campus, the study integrates the strengths of both physical and statistical models to create an optimized, data-driven system for analyzing building energy consumption. By combining dynamic simulations with machine learning techniques, the project seeks to generate realistic energy demand predictions and support strategies for energy efficiency improvements, renovation planning, and sustainable urban development. Bringing together expertise from civil engineering, architecture, urban planning, and computer science, the project promotes interdisciplinary collaboration and contributes to climate change mitigation efforts through data-informed energy performance analysis.

Resilient Housing Design
The project “Occupant-Centric Housing Design and Retrofit Pathways for Sustainable, Equitable, and Resilient Pandemic Recovery” Led by Dr. Neşe Ganiç from Özyeğin University, started in February 2023 and initiated a three-year collaboration with international partners from Canada and Germany. The project explores how housing design can enhance resilience, health, and equity in the post-pandemic era. COVID-19 fundamentally changed how people live and work within their homes, disproportionately affecting low-income households residing in smaller, energy-inefficient dwellings. Through international surveys, in-depth interviews, and building performance simulations, the research investigates how passive and sustainable design strategies can improve indoor air quality, thermal comfort, and energy efficiency under varying occupancy scenarios. The project ultimately aims to produce a robust, healthy, and sustainable housing guide to inform future affordable housing policies and retrofitting initiatives worldwide.

Sustainable Rural Heritage Management
The study "Sustainable Cultural Heritage Management: A Model Proposal for the Rural Settlements in Türkiye" led by Dr. Didem Boyacıoğlu during her one-year sabbatical in Germany, started in September 2024. The project aims to develop a rural cultural heritage management model through on-site observation, analysis, and stakeholder interviews in German rural settlements, and to discuss its adaptability to Turkish rural areas. The research builds upon ongoing work on Şile villages in Istanbul and is prompted by similarities between Şile and German villages.
By evaluating the effectiveness of German cultural heritage management plans, the study seeks to create an adaptable model for Turkish rural settlements, with potential application in Şile villages as a future case study. The research employs mixed methods, combining conceptual and methodological approaches with quantitative and qualitative techniques to define a rural-specific management model that promotes sustainable use of cultural resources and heritage sites.