Notes

To the DAAD Scholarship Commission Committee,

I have always believed that people should pursue their dreams. The reason for writing this motivation letter is my desire to earn a DAAD Scholarship and qualify for master's education in Germany, which will help me realize my dreams.

My deep connection to art and design began during my high school years when I started playing the guitar. As I began composing music, I was fascinated by the abstract world of music. Owning a piano was my greatest dream during high school, but my family couldn't provide financial support for it. I purchased my piano with the money I saved by playing the guitar on the streets during my spare time. I never allowed anything as simple as money to distance me from my dreams.

During my preparation for university, I came across a online video where famous architect Renzo Piano discussed the design process of his latest project, Centro Botin. His description of translating his architectural design from his mind onto paper and then into a real structure fascinated me. The primary reason for my deep connection to art was its ability to transform abstract ideas into something tangible, and I realized that architecture took this to another level by merging artistic and aesthetic concerns with the realms of natural surroundings and engineering. This realization led me to decide to become an architect.

During my university years, I worked as a pianist in cafes and took on online architectural design projects both in Turkey and on an internationally scale to support myself financially while studying for my architecture degree. One of my professors, Özgür Ediz, once said that a good architect should be open-minded both architecturally and intellectually in order to break the shackles of the mind, they should engage in literature and philosophy. To enhance my intellectual development, I engaged in numerous philosophical and literary readings during my student years, gaining valuable insights from German thinkers such as Goethe and Schopenhauer. In my final two years at university, I actively participated in various events organized by the Bursa Chamber of Architects, aiming to learn as much as possible from the experiences of veteran architects in addition to what I learned from my professors at Uludağ University.

Before completing my architecture degree, my experiences in online architectural works helped me build a specific client portfolio. Therefore, after finishing my architecture degree in June 2022, I applied to the Chamber of Architects, obtained my professional registration and began providing architectural services in Bursa as a licensed architect. Working as an independent architect for over a year has allowed me to apply the knowledge and experience gained during my architectural education in the real-world architectural market. After the experience of presenting projects to architecture professors and juries in school, the process of presenting projects to clients and establishing effective communication with them expanded my architectural and professional perspective.

While many of my peers were financially dependent on their families during their high school and university years, I have been financially self-reliant since high school. I played the guitar on the streets and engaged in online architectural projects to meet my personal needs and cover my expenses. Throughout this journey, I gained dozens of experiences and never abandoned my passion for art and design.

I have always believed that the journey is more important than the destination. Architecture is a discipline in constant evolution influenced by society and time. In my opinion, a good architect is someone who can stand at the intersection of art, engineering, culture, and architecture, continuously evolving and improving themselves. Like Ludwig Mies van der Rohe said, "Architecture is a language. When you are very good, you can be a poet." I aspire to be a good architect who is fluent in the language of architecture and just like my idols, a skilled poet.

My architectural education and the knowledge I acquired during my one-year career as a professional architect have greatly enhanced my skills and understanding of architecture. Now, I have decided to embark on a different journey. I believe that pursuing a master's degree in architecture in Germany will assist me in becoming an internationally advanced architect. Specifically, I believe that the Advanced Architecture master's program in Frankfurt is the perfect fit for me. As I mentioned in a previous paragraph, being a good architect, in my view, involves standing at the intersection of multiple disciplines. The program's description, "Advanced Architecture means designing and constructing on all scales, from urban contexts to the one-to-one detail," indicates that this program aligns with my aspirations.

I want to further develop my artistic sensitivity and design skills, which I cultivated during my architecture degree, through a German master's program. If you accept me into this program, we can experience and explore the depths of architecture together. We can collaborate to transform professional architectural approaches into a comprehensive approach.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
Berk Rahim Hüner