Ece Duran is an architect, researcher, and artist based in Istanbul. Her practice focuses on exploring the immeasurable and incalculable dreamy depth within the autonomous medium of drawing by challenging the utilitarian necessities of reality. Ece has keen interest in the integration of intuition and divination, inherent in dreams, into the design process, envisioning virtual multiplicities alongside material actualities. By liberating space from the confines of practical needs, functions, usage, limits, and definitions, Ece unleashes the unique creative possibilities of dreams in the act of space-making.
Dreams, as a method of creation, defy linear paths, revealing their multi-faceted and fragmented structures, while exposing unconscious processes. They serve as a compass, leading her practice to resist normative structures and generalized rational approaches, embracing irrational escape and exploring creative possibilities of space.
Ece completed her undergraduate studies in Architecture at Izmir Economy University in 2018, earning the award for the best project. During her studies, she also took various courses at the UCLA School of Architecture. In 2022, she received a master's degree from Istanbul Technical University, with a thesis titled "And Then Architecture Falls Asleep: A Theoretical and Experimental Approach to the Architectural Design Process."
Her body of work encompasses drawings, physical models, and moving images, and she has exhibited her works at venues such as Bilsart, the Culture Route Festival, Versus Art Project, The Circle, and Mamut Art Project. Ece has received several awards, including recognition from the Ytong Architectural Idea Competition, the Erenköy Mental Health and Neurological Diseases Training and Research Hospital Architectural Project Competition, and the Young Architects Selection & Exhibition.
Her research has been published in various conferences and journals, including the Mimar Sinan Spatial Studies Symposium, ICNS Lisbon Night Studies, and PLAT Journal. Since 2022, she has been a guest lecturer at Istanbul Bilgi University and Istanbul MEF University, teaching a range of courses.