A timber and fabric village pavilion on Turkey's Datça Peninsula

This small pavilion grew out of the Datça Summer Workshop 2026, a design-build course run jointly by İstanbul Bilgi University, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University and Wentworth Institute of Technology, with tutors including Sebastián Erazo and Stefano Pugliese of the practice Erazo Pugliese. The result, the Karaköy Timber Extension, sits at the edge of the village's celebration ground in southwestern Turkey, where it gives shade, worktops, storage and seating to the people who cook and organise for weddings, seasonal markets and gatherings.

Its form borrows from the çardak, a seasonal farm shelter found across the Datça Peninsula. There are no concrete foundations: the frame rests straight on the ground, more like a very large piece of outdoor furniture than a building. A row of repeated timber frames carries boards that become preparation counters, display shelves and a long bench facing the clearing. Overhead, stretched fabric panels nod to the canopies of Turkish street bazaars, filtering sun while leaving the sides open to the breeze.

A nice practical touch: the textiles slip off for the windy winter months, held by battens in sewn pockets and fixed with elastic cords and hooks. The project came to designboom as a reader submission, so details are the makers' own, and the project notes confusingly list Istanbul as the location. Worth a look for anyone interested in modest, community-built architecture.

Our summary of a story from designboom, published 25 October 2026. Read the original

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