Issue link: https://tmcpulse.uberflip.com/i/323757
t m c » p u l s e | j u n e 2 0 1 4 14 houston parks board executive director roKSan oKan-vicK talks about houston's green space, and how a hundred-year-old parks plan is inspiring efforts throughout the city. INdUSTRy SPOTLIGHT Q | Tell me a bit about your childhood and where you spent your formative years. A | I am one of those diversity peo- ple that is talked about so much in Houston. I was not born here, but some say I got here as fast as I could. Though that really wasn't deliberate, it was totally coincidental. I grew up in Istanbul, Turkey. And actually went to a school of architecture there, at a very prestigious university. But very quickly, thanks to my family's encouragement— which I needed because in the late 70s, life was a little different, particularly in a country like Turkey—I applied to uni- versities in the U.S., not knowing what the country was like, where I was going. I liked a lot of different universities, and Rice University was the one that gave me the largest scholarship and stipend, so I ended up here. I wanted to do my masters here, so I ended up coming and really falling in love with Houston. When you are young, the world is just lovely and there is nothing you cannot do. So I ended up making Houston my home for a variety of reasons, and finished the school of architecture and stayed here. But hav- ing the formative years of my life in a city like Istanbul had an impact on how I viewed the urban context. The rich, dense, historically signif- icant urban fabric of Istanbul taught me that the urban context means a lot in a city. Even though I was trained as an architect and I practiced many years as a traditional architect, I always understood that you cannot just build a building without understanding everything else that is going on around it. So I think wanting to understand the bigger picture certainly had an impact. And there were other things. Growing up in a family that is somewhat different culturally, all of those mold you in terms of the kind of person you are. So hardworking, loyal, committed, all of those qualities come from family, whether you are here in Houston or somewhere else. But coming here and gaining an understanding of the urban context Houston offered, was very interest- ing. People generally don't remark that Houston is a beautiful city, but I see Houston as very beautiful. Every city has its own beauty, and finding that, working that and making that an asset to the city is very important. So ultimately when a career opportunity provided an avenue back to a place where I could have an impact on that context, I jumped at it. Even though I still love traditional architecture—I follow trends and all of the wonderful happenings in architecture—my heart is now firmly directed toward shaping our city. You can impact so much more when you are dealing at the city scale. I consider myself lucky enough to be up to my elbows doing that right now. Q | Did the culture of Istanbul, where East meets West, shape your architec- tural perspectives? A | Most certainly. Interestingly enough, the Turkey of 1978, when I left it, was actually much more oriented to the West than the Turkey of today. You might not feel it in a city like Istanbul, but certainly the path that the current administration is pursuing is quite different from the Turkey that I grew up in. I don't want to make a judgment call. However, I am saddened by this path because it was a less divided, more informed community during the 24 years I was living there. While the country you are born in and spend your formative years—in my People generally don't remark that houston is a beautiful city, but i see houston as very beautiful. every city has its own beauty, and finding that, working that and making that an asset to the city is very important. (Credit: Michael stravato)