She is the co-founder of Openact Architecture, a design studio examining indeterminacy and plurality with registered offices in Madrid and Istanbul.

She received her B.Arch from Istanbul Technical University and she took her Masters of Architecture + Urban Design from Cornell AAP in 2013. During her studies in Cornell AAP, she was a member of the research group “The Petropolis of Tomorrow’” and practiced as a teaching assistant. Her work during this research was exhibited in the Lisbon Triennale 4th edition, “The world in our eyes” in 2016. Zuhal has given lectures, review critics and workshops in institutions including Cornell University, Istanbul Technical University, European Forum, and various design festivals. She won numerous awards including the most recent of Bandırma Park International Competition and European 13 Zagreb “Swap on the river.”

She developed an international architectural experience, focusing on different scale public space projects such as the Besiktas Fish Market and Yenikapi Transfer Point. She published in international books & journals such as Water Index, Petropolis of Tomorrow, Association, Praznine, and Arquitectura Viva. Her work has also been exhibited in international venues across Spain and Turkey, as well as the United States, Croatia, Poland, Portugal, Italy, Argentina, Netherlands and China.

Sava Activities

Client The City of Zagreb
Project Type Public Space Transformation
Date Completed Under Construction
Collaborators Carlos Zarco Sanz, Sara Palomar Perez, Agram d.o.o., Layher GmbH, Ultra Studio d.o.o., ETS Farago d.o.o., Arhitektura minimal d.o.o., Inspekting d.o.o., Damir Bekic
Design Company Openact Architecture
Awards First Award –Europan 13 Adaptable City 2 International Architecture Competition, 2015 , Third Award –Ljubljana Forum Future of Cities, Large Infrastructure Projects “Sava Activities”
Photographer Marko Mihaljevic

Aiming to reintroduce the riverbanks of Zagreb’s Sava River to the daily life of the city, the project introduces a framework of negotiation in which a constant conversation of the riverbank sites and their programs are promoted through exchange on/around the water. Expanding into a 7 km long area of inundation zone, the project transforms the riverbanks with subtle landscape interventions and employs 9 activator structures (temporary scaffolding pavilions) with varying programs to be interchanged in various combinations in between sites, with the ability of dismantling in case of raising water levels.

Bandırma Design Park

Client Balıkesir Metropolitan Municipality
Project Type Public Space Transformation + Heritage Building Restoration
Collaborators Carlos Zarco Sanz, Jose Luis Hidalgo, Zehra Saday Aygün, Ozan Önder Özener, Gülsün Tanyeli, Meliz Akyol, ITU Nova, Haluk Sesigür, Fonksiyon Mühendislik, Sinerji Dinamik Proje, CeyPeyzaj, Selin Deniz, Arzu Özsavaşcı, Solvotek Mühendislik, Pozitif Proje, NA Mimari Aydınlatma
Design Company Openact Architecture
Awards First Award –Bandırma Design Park International Architecture Competition, 2017
Photographer Zehra Saday Aygün

Emphasizing a diverse combination of ecological, infrastructural and urban programs, the project presents a layered approach to the revitalization of a former military brownfield in the industrial Turkish city of Bandirma. By centering the park around a Design & Research Institute, the intent is to create an environment that will strengthen Bandirma’s socio-cultural standing, and offer a new hub for the city’s future, while seamlessly integrating into the natural ecological identity.