Dr. Birge Yıldırım Okta, in connection with the CONSIDER project, is investigating the ecological potential of post-industrial railway heritage. In her research, she plans to propose successional stages for creating green habitat corridors, conserving wildlife habitats, and implementing rainwater harvesting. She will conduct a comparative study of environmental factors at several sites, including Newcastle, Forth Banks and Goods Station in Newcastle, and Haydarpaşa Railway Station in Istanbul.
*About the researcher: Dr. Birge Yıldırım Okta is a practising architect, researcher and founder of the architectural office, OKTAA. She holds an academic position as a senior lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool School of Art and Design. She worked as an associate professor at Kadir Has University (2019-2021), and as an assistant professor (2014-2017) at Istanbul Technical University, Faculty of Architecture, Department of Landscape Architecture, where she got her PhD degree (2014). She completed her research on local public space and niche theory at Columbia University, Department of Philosophy as a postdoctoral researcher with the TUBITAK Postdoctoral Research Fellowship. She was a special student at Harvard University, Graduate School of Design (2012-2013). She completed her MSc at Istanbul Technical University, Department of Architecture, History of Architecture. During her master’s studies, she was a visiting student at Universidade do Minho, Portugal. Her research and teaching interests include urban history, urban design, landscape design and architectural design. She has publications, conference talks, workshops, and exhibitions regarding these topics. She has won design awards from national and international competitions. Her works were exhibited in international and national exhibitions.
