Hey,
I’m Melisa Çalgüner. Welcome to my corner of the internet.
I was born in 2010 and I live in Istanbul, a city where history and modern life are constantly meeting at every street corner. I am currently a 9th grade student at AÇI Schools, and I’m on a long-term journey toward studying architecture at a prestigious and top-ranked university worldwide.
It all started when I was three years old, when i first held a colored pencil staring at a blank piece of paper. At first it was just some random scribbles that made no sense at all but for me, it was the start of my journey. I tested new ways of coloring, expiremented with pencils and my passion towards art evolved over time. I started drawing until midnight and discovered new skills. However when i reached 13 years old I realised that i had to pick a job. All of my top picks had one thing in common; design. I grew up in a family of architects, so words like “plan,” “section,” “facade,” and “site” were part of my everyday vocabulary long before I fully understood what they meant. Every day, I used hear these terms and never knew the definition, always questioning where those terms came from. As a child, I spent many weekends visiting construction sites, design studios, and buildings that my parents were working on. At first, I was not really interested because it seemed way too complicated and I could not really shape the final product in my head. I didn’t realize it back then, but those early experiences were quietly shaping the way I see space, light, and the relationship between people and the places they live in. I started seeing architecture as a canvas that you can shape how people are going to live and their lifestyle overall. The idea of how people are going to live life based on how you shape the space really inspired me. I decided that I wanted to enhance the way people lived and make everyones dreams come true including myself.
Over time, I discovered that architecture is where many of the things I love come together: drawing, problem solving, storytelling, and imagining how our cities could be better. I enjoy sketching spaces, observing how people move through them, and thinking about how design can make daily life more comfortable, sustainable, and beautiful. And that’s when I realized that architecture was the right pick for me.
This blog is where I will document my journey from a high school student in Istanbul to (hopefully) a future architecture student at a world-class university. I plan to share:
- My sketches, drawings, and small design experiments
- Reflections from construction sites and buildings I visit
- Notes and thoughts on architecture, cities, and public spaces
- What I learn from books, exhibitions, and online courses related to art and architecture
- Personal projects and ideas as I develop my portfolio
Right now, I am at the very beginning of this path. I don’t have a long list of awards or finished projects yet- and that’s exactly why I started this blog. I want to show the process: the small steps, the evolution of my thinking, and the way my perspective changes as I learn more about the world of design.
If you are also interested in architecture, if you are a student on a similar path, or if you are simply curious about how a young person prepares for an architecture education, I invite you to follow along. This space is as much about learning as it is about sharing.
Thank you for visiting my site.
Melisa