Circles of Care: Architecture of the Altın Günü | Leyla Hepsaydir

In Circles of Care: Architecture of the Altın Günü, Leyla Hepsaydir applies participatory research methods to explore women-led domestic ‘third places’ in Rotterdam. These are physical spaces where people meet that are explicitly neither the home nor the workplace. Through community-oriented storytelling and collective creation, Hepsaydir investigates how care, reciprocity and informal economies shape spatial use outside the realm of formal architecture. Altın Günü is a recurring domestic gathering within Turkish women’s communities and serves as the first case study within the project. Over a period of six months, Hepsaydir participates in Altın Günü gatherings to collect stories through conversations with the other participants, to draw these together, and subsequently to present and discuss them. Over time, a test archive is generated that consists of visual, material and audio research findings, which serve as the basis for an exhibition emphasising the importance of feminist and community-oriented spatial knowledge.