Architecture Through Dialogue: Per Se 2015–2025, the book that presents a comprehensive body of work from the first decade of the young design practice Per Se Architecture to the architectural community has been published by YEM Publications, Istanbul.

Edited by Muge Cengizkan and Ali Cengizkan, and designed by Dilara Sezgin, Architecture Through Dialogue: Per Se 2015–2025 traces the design office’s trajectory from its founding to the present day. Rather than focusing solely on completed buildings, the publication reveals the processes that brought these works into being and the modes of design thinking developed and shared through dialogue.

The editors Muge Cengizkan and Ali Cengizkan argue that architectural and urban design projects produced by Per Se Architecture over the past decade, and the practice’s modes of approach and operation have the potential to open new avenues within Turkish architecture. They write:

“It is evident that they place great importance on elevating the roles of architectural practice and environmental design within the society. Their intensive modes of communication; their entrepreneurial initiatives demonstrate that their architectural practice extends far beyond production of projects alone; and their open, collective, inclusive, participatory, and persistent capacity for negotiation—aimed at engaging both private clients and local and central public authorities—all attest to this commitment. Taken together, these qualities demonstrate that Per Se understands architectural design does not end at the drawing table; rather, it extends to the completed work and even to that work’s journey and future on earth. If we have succeeded in articulating and conveying what Per Se Architecture under the leadership of Ali Derya Dostoglu and Ugur Ozer has achieved during its first decade through this book, then our expectations for what the practice may produce in the decades ahead have only grown.”

The story of Per Se Architecture begins with the founders, Ali Derya Dostoglu and Ugur Ozer, whose shared instinct to “take ownership of something together” dates back to their years at Galatasaray High School. The practice adopted the name “Per Se,” a Latin expression meaning “in itself” or “by itself,” embracing it both as a reflection of its partnership model and as an expression of architectural pursuit that is internally coherent and independent of external references.

The publication maps the conceptual framework of Per Se Architecture through four thematic axes: “Tectonics. Plainness. At the Threshold Between Rural and Urban.”, “Rooted in Place”, “Opening the Public Space”, and “Multi-Actor Collaboration. Cooperation. Negotiation.” Essays by Haluk Ulusan, Melis Cankara, Burcu Goksoy, and an interview with Han Tumertekin examine the practice’s decade-long body of work through these themes, adding further depth to this emerging architectural practice.

Alongside documenting the effortless fluency and assured expression characteristic of Per Se’s work, the book features conversations with numerous clients and collaborators—from Safak Baba Pala and Ahmetcan Tasdemir to Merve Gedik and Omer Selcuk Baz—whose contributions are considered to be of concern at the same level of importance as buildings and design projects themselves. These interviews reveal the collaborations that took place before, during, and after the design process, documenting an approach to the built environment grounded in “collective ownership by multiple subjects.”

For Per Se Architecture, whose practice moves between the pace of Istanbul and Bursa and the rural presence and settlements of Canakkale, this publication is not merely a milestone but also the beginning of a new chapter. Viewing its tenth anniversary as a threshold, the practice uses this book both to openly and honestly reflect on its past decade and to express its determination to explore boundaries of a flexible architectural practice in the years ahead. Architecture Through Dialogue: Per Se 2015–2025 stands as a publication that demonstrates architecture is not simply a finished product but an ongoing process of becoming in the field of social negotiation.

The publication was made possible with the invaluable support of Kalebodur and Jotun, and the contributions of Baumit and Petra.