Melkan Gürsel
Melkan Gürsel is a partner at Istanbul architecture practice Tabanlioglu Architects.
Gürsel studied for her Master of Architecture at Polytechnic University of Metropolitan Catalonia after graduating in architecture from Istanbul Technical University in 1993. She joined Tabanlioglu Architects in 1995.
In 2008, Gürsel was selected as one of the Europe 40 under 40 and later included in the Fifty under Fifty: Innovators of the 21st Century list in 2015. Gürsel was named one of Middle East Architect magazine’s top 40 most powerful architects in the Middle East in both 2017 and 2018. She ranked third in this year’s Middle East Architect magazine’s Power List.
In 2010, together with Murat Tabanlıoğlu, Gürsel was named Architect of the Year by MEA Awards. In 2013 and 2018, they were again selected as Architect of the Year by Big Project Middle East Awards.
Gürsel gives lectures internationally and serves on the jury of several architecture programmes. She designed and co-curated an exhibition at London Design Festival 2015 with Arik Levy and exhibited at London’s V&A as part of London Design Festival 2016. Gürsel designed the Turkish pavilion at London Design Biennale 2018.
