Zuhal Kol

Zuhal Kol is an architect and educator, and co-founder of Openact Architecture, an international award-winning interdisciplinary design studio with offices in Istanbul and Madrid. Her work focuses on the intersection of politics, infrastructure, and contemporary urban environments, operating within architecture and landscape urbanism to explore open-ended, adaptable systems across multiple scales of public space.

Her practice has received numerous international and national awards, including the Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction 2023, New European Bauhaus Awards 2023, and the Turkish National Architecture Award (2022, 2024). Openact has won several first-prize competitions which led to constructed work, including Europan 18 in France and Europan 13 in Croatia, alongside major urban design competitions in Montenegro and Turkey. Currently under construction, the Tuzla Stream CoHabitat project in Istanbul is an ecosystem restoration initiative developed through participatory processes and awarded the Holcim Silver Award 2023 in Venice.

Alongside professional practice, Zuhal is active in academic and research fields. She has taught design studios at Istanbul Technical University, AURA Istanbul, and currently at IE University and Universidad Europea de Madrid. She has lectured, led workshops and contributed as guest critic at institutions such as Cornell University, University of Michigan Taubman College, TU Graz, and the University of Zagreb. Her work has been exhibited internationally, and her writing on public space, infrastructure, and ecology has been published in books and journals including Actar, Arquitectura Viva, and Scenario Journal.

Corporate Experience

• Co-founder of Openact Architecture, Turkey-Spain, 2013 - Present 
• Project Architect at Global Architectural Development (GAD), Istanbul, Turkey, 2011 - 2012

Academic Experience

• Adjunct Professor of Design Studio, IE University, Spain, 2024 - Present 
• Adjunct Professor of Design Studio, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Spain, 2023 - Present 
• Adjunct Professor of Gradute Design Studio, AURA Istanbul, Turkey, 2021 - 2022 
• Adjunct Professor of Design Studio, Istanbul Technical University, Turkey, 2020 - 2022 
• Teaching Assistant, Cornell University, USA, 2012 - 2013

Academic Background

• Post-Professional Master of Science, Advanced Architectural Design, Cornell University, USA, 2013
• Erasmus Exchange Program - Bachelor of Architecture, TU Cottbus, Germany, 2010
• Bachelor of Architecture, Istanbul Technical University, Turkey, 2011