the inaugural Global Design Forum İstanbul

1 week to go until the inaugural Global Design Forum İstanbul

Pavilion of the Moment by Waugh Thistleton Architects

​In one week, the inaugural Global Design Forum İstanbul will take place 13–16 May 2026, bringing more than 30 leading international voices to the city for four days of talks, installations and citywide experiences. Presented in collaboration with People Places Ideas (PPI) and shaped under the artistic direction of Melek Zeynep Bulut, the Forum marks a major new addition to the global design calendar.


The programme is shaped around four key principles: Placemaking, Storytelling, Discussion and Rethinking. Within this context, on 13 May, the programme will begin with the unveiling of ‘Placemaking’ installations presented under the curatorial theme “Praise of Transience”. ‘Storytelling’ comprises a digital map called “İstanbullar”, spotlighting 40 creative people, places and ideas of the city. Two days of ‘Discussion’ (14-15 May) will be held in the courtyard of Hagia Irene, within the grounds of Topkapı Palace Complex. Global Design Forum Istanbul will close with the launch of a garden design competition, ‘Rethinking’ and reviving Yedikule district for future generations.
Curated under the theme Worlds in Contact by Beatrice Galilee, the two-day discussion programme will bring together leading figures across architecture, design, fashion and technology in the courtyard of Hagia Irene, within the Topkapı Palace Complex. Highlights include Liam Young presenting Planet City; Tom Dixon in conversation with Lina Ghotmeh; a keynote by Hussein Chalayan, moderated by Caroline Roux; and sessions featuring Lesley Lokko and Marina Tabassum.
A core pillar of Global Design Forum İstanbul is a series of public installations – part of the ‘Placemaking’ programme shaped by Melek Zeynep Bulut – designed under the curatorial theme of “Praise of Transience”. Designers and architects have been invited to reconsider the ancient relationship between the human body and architecture through the notions of transience and permanence: the installations consider the structure not as an object resistant to time, but as an organism that works with time and accompanies the body.  First revealed is Pavilion of the Moment by Waugh Thistleton Architects, a timber pavilion designed as a quiet counterpoint to its historic setting.
Storytelling is a key principle of Melek Zeynep Bulut’s artistic vision for Global Design Forum İstanbul. This is manifested in İstanbullar: Creative Archive – a dynamic map which gathers the city’s designers and artists, contemporary architectural identities, storytellers and makers. They have contributed visual, audio and editorial content relating to 40 key design pieces and artworks as well as notable locations throughout İstanbul, turning the city into an open stage for design.


An international design competition for a contemporary garden and lighting in Yedikule district completes the citywide programme. The initiative is developed under the key programme principle of ‘Rethinking’ and aims to be a revival project that actively engages future generations. More details will be announced at the closing of Global Design Forum İstanbul.