Zehra Kahvecioğlu

I found myself making models out of paper because of the crispy noise it makes, which I associated with the sound of leaves. The moment I hung sheets of the thinnest paper I could find, it started to wave at the moment I walked by. Like a tree with hanging branches and randomly placed leaves, waving and saluting me. Welcoming and inviting me. I wanted to capture this moment and started a research about a welcoming space made out of paper. I studied the strength, shape and quality of the paper and practiced to observe better. There were times that the material took over control, and at those moments I had to find new ways and push myself further. Designers have the ability and freedom to make decisions about material and construction. In my case the roles were intentionally turned the other way around. The paper had all the freedom and decided for itself if it would stand alone or fall down. During the process I have torn, cut, hung, tied, stacked, folded and drawn onto paper, in order to make a space more inviting. Because paper is flat, it forced me to work in a careful way. It sensitizes my actions. I ended up seeing more patterns in everyday things that I associated with the geometry and (at the same time) unpredictability of nature.

While the association between nature and paper could be considered as very personal, most of the aspects that I chose for building, came from general characteristics of a space of positive feel. For example, height, looking up to the sky, having a sight towards above gives a sense of freedom. The white brightness of paper represents innocence, purity, peace and calmness. The shape of a half circle is the abstraction of spreading arms, imitates the act of a hug. The gentle waving movement offers unpredictability and playfulness. My experiments interacted with the weather. The paper catching the sunlight during the morning or emerging in the darkest hour of the night shows that a spatial model could look totally different when you change the context and time. My project attempts to question the power of an everyday material, fragility and the way we try to fit in the nature with our buildings. Letting go of the desire to build permanent and learn from limitless beauty of a model that is a temporary welcoming space.

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