User:AnEarnestMan/sandbox

Ömer F. Akın (June 30, 1946 – March 13, 2020) was a renaissance man...

best known for...

Early life in Turkey
born in Eskisehir, Turkey, to parents Ali Kemal Akın and Fazilet Akın.

Brothers Erkan Akın and Okan Akın, and sister Ayşegül Akın-Karasapan.

life in Turkey

Education
1964-1968 Bachelor of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey.

1968-1970 Master of Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey. Masters thesis: A Theoretical Basis for Campus Design: A Case Study in Adana

1970 Fulbright Fellowship for graduate studies in the USA.

1970-1973 Master of Architecture in Environmental Systems; School of Architecture, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia. Masters Thesis: Contextual Fittingness of Everyday Activity Encounters

1973-1979 Ph.D. in Architecture, Department of Architecture, Carnegie Mellon University. Dissertation title: Models of Architectural Knowledge: An Information Processing View of Design Advisors: ...Charles M. Eastman ...William G. Chase ...Herbert A. Simon Research in Design Cognition, Computer Aided Design, and Building Commissioning.

Adult life in the U.S.
Blacksburg, VA

Pittsburgh, PA

Adult life abroad
Time in Turkey Summer academic positions Travel in China, including the Uyghurs region of Xinjiang

Marriage and children
married Meral Akın, née Altay, in 1970.

Cem 1972

Ayça and Mete 1980

Death and legacy
Akın passed away March 13th, 2020 in Pittsburgh. He is buried at The Homewood Cemetery near his family home in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh.

The Carnegie Mellon School of Architecture held the Ömer Akin Remembrance on the one year anniversary of his passing.

Turkish Nationality Room, University of Pittsburgh, 2001-2012
Akın was the Architect of Record for the Turkish Nationality Room within the Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh.

...video of Akın describing aspects of the room design in 2012.

...link to Pitt site on TNR

...link to book on TNR

Research in Architecture and Design
Talk: "I am not Rem Koolhaas."

Design Psychology
Pub: 1982 Representation and Architecture (with E. Weinel) Maryland: Information Dynamics

Pub: Representation and Architecture; Psychology of Architectural Design;

Pub: A Cartesian Approach to Design Rationality; several entries in the Encyclopedia of Creativity, Invention, Innovation and Entrepreneurship;

Ethics
Pub: Ethical Decision Making in Architecture

CAD
Pub: Generative CAD

Building Commissioning
Pub: Embedded Commissioning of Building Systems.

Value based design
Pub: Design Added Value: How Design Increases Value for Architects and Engineers, 2022

Teaching
Started... Akın was named Professor Emeritus at the Carnegie Mellon School of Architecture in 2017.

Classes
Design Live

AEC Systems Synthesis

Value Based Design

Software Requirement Engineering

Methods and Paradigms of Research in Architecture

Ethical Decision Making in Architecture

Architectural Design: Occupancy

Administration and Program Leadership
Head of the Department of Architecture from 1981 to 1987.

Akın developed the SoA’s Architecture–Engineering–Construction Management (AECM) Master’s and PhD degree programs With William Mitchell, he co-authored the professional Master of Architecture degree program and taught in it from 1980 to 1985.

Graduate students
Partial list...

Competitive swimming
1963 Second place in National Swim Meet in Adana, 50 and 100 free style.

1964 Member of the National Swimming and Water Polo Teams competing against Greece, in Istanbul, Second place in National Swim Meet in Adana, 50 and 100 free style.

1965 Second place in National Swim Meet in Adana, 50 and 100 free style.

1966 Second place in National Swim Meet in Adana, 50 and 100 free style.

1969: Turkish National Swimming Team: represented Turkey at the Student Olympics in Budapest, Hungary.

1995: YMCA All-American, National Swim Meet, Buffalo, NY: second place in the 200 yard, medley, relay.

1998: YMCA All-American, National Swim Meet, Fort Lauderdale, FL: seventh place in the 200 yard, free, men’s relay.

2001: 2nd place overall in the AMAYMC, Regional meet, March, 31.

2002: 1st place in the YMCA National meet held at Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for the 1650, 55+ men’s event; total of eight All-American placements in one meet.

Sculpture
Four Seasons

Human Figures.

Fiction
Hermit Crab, a full length novel

Musings of a Male Menopausal Mutt, a collection of poetry

Discovered in Retrospect, a collection of short stories