Visible in memories, invisible in dreams, human
Meaning is seen in dreams
And also certain characteristics, vague.
And
There is no memory without people. Is there?
— EDİP CANSEVER
Architecture is not just about constructing buildings; because in migrant life, spatial experience is fundamentally human experience itself. People need to form connections in order to live. Sometimes with hope, sometimes out of necessity… Migration is not only a loss, but sometimes also a window opening to the new. The emotion that compels humans makes them fierce; but the moment they form a bond, they begin to live again. For this reason, architecture is a form of relationship; it is the relationship humans form with themselves, with nature, with the street, with other people, with the square. Architecture does not merely construct the places we live in; it connects life with life, constructing through connection. Because life sometimes consists of experiences we live through, sometimes through observation, and sometimes through what we feel in our hearts. Space is where people form connections; through its scent, its sounds, its witnesses, its memories… When a structure, a product created by an architect, becomes part of the city, the relationship begins; this relationship is space. Space invents a new story every time it connects with people. Now, this is entrusted to all living and non-living beings there, coming from the architect’s hands, heart, and mind. This is what makes architecture special: We create, design, and build space; people who live there build its meaning.
The Migrant’s Connection to Place
In the migrant’s life, everything begins under the shadow of transience: a tent, a container, a rented room… Yet even in the most temporary of places, a person leaves a mark. Years ago, during the Van earthquake in our country, while people were living in tents, the most striking impression was the women spreading cloths on their tables and creating play areas for their children. These are the first touches that transform a space into a livable place. In immigrant neighborhoods, the narrow spaces where children play ball in the sreets, the old chairs left on the sidewalks, the slippers forgotten in front of doors… All these are silent signs of putting down roots in the face of the cruelty of transience.I think of the migrants living in Fatih; I observe the Syrian restaurants that have opened, the migrants striving with all their might to pass on and keep alive their own food and culture. Their efforts to learn the language, to build a life in the cities they have taken refuge in, to rebuild both their families and their lives… Architecture, at this very point, is not just about the buildings that are constructed; it also encompasses neighborly relations, solidarity among shopkeepers, the rhythm of the streets, the voices of children, and the conversations that take place in front of doors.
What Makes a Place Meaningful: Memory
Without our meaning, a place remains meaningless. A place illuminates both the past and the future for us. This light sometimes draws us in like a well, sometimes opens up our path like a street. We all compare certain roads, streets, and houses to one another; this comparison is actually the spatial projection of our own memory. Architecture is memory before it is form and function. Buildings change, streets are renewed, cities grow; but the bonds people form carry the memories of a time into the future. One of the best examples of this is the Muslim communities living in Paris. Immigrants from North Africa and the East significantly enrich the city’s social fabric, cultural diversity, artisan culture, cuisine, and language. They change the rhythm of urban life with the solidarity networks they establish in the suburbs.
Architecture is an Art of Relationships
When architecture touches human life, it does not merely become a project; it strives to understand and give meaning to a form of existence. Migration diminishes the human being; yet it also deepens them. The architect is the one who sees this depth and transforms it into space. Because architecture is the art of relationships: the architect creates the space, but it is the human being who creates the meaning.
For this reason, architecture is not just a building; it is a scent, a sound, a path, a memory. In the life of a migrant, the spatial experience is the courage to find a new place for oneself, to write a new story. This courage offers us our next journey: “Space from the Migrant’s Perspective: What is home? Where is home?”
References
Cansever, Edip. Sonrası Kalır: Bütün Şiirleri. İstanbul: Yapı Kredi Yayınları, 2005.
Güler, Ara. İstanbul. İstanbul: Yapı Kredi Yayınları, 2009.
Top-Halal. “Mosquée de Paris”. Erişim 27 Kasım 2025. https://top-halal.fr/mosquee-de-paris.
