Merve Ipek Cirakoglu

In what ways do we communicate with one another through what we grow? My research demonstrates that extreme symbiotic relationships can foster new ways of seeing the environment and our species. We develop problematic relations with our environment and non-humans because of our human-centric approach. How we design our spaces oftentimes harms the ecosystem permanently. This problem is directly related to our interiors since they are taking part in ranges of scales between our body and the city. What if our environments followed the life cycle of plants? My research seeks to create continuity within the built environment by designing outward from the body of the evolved post-human in collaboration with non-human natural entities. In order to test the idea of post-human design, this research uses food as a tool. In response to fast-growing city populations, urban agriculture commonly proposes that urban communities transform existing spaces in order that they produce food closer to city residents. My thesis is based on the idea that we should cultivate relations with non-humans that create other kinds of ecosystems. It radicalizes this notion by reducing the physical distance between humans and plants through the evolution of hybrid species. We are the environment, the environment is us.

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