Alper Besen is an interior architect and an academic. Originally from Turkey, he has practiced in Istanbul and New York for over 15 years. He holds a Master of Design from RISD’s Interior Architecture department with a focus on adaptive reuse and a Master of Arts from SVA’s Design Writing, Research and Criticism department.
Alper is a visiting assistant professor at the Pratt Institute, where he teaches Interior Design Theory and MFA Thesis Studio. He also teaches an adaptive reuse-focused Revit course at the School of Visual Arts (SVA). His academic studies focus on the ethical frictions between collective memory vs. private interests. He advocates the usage of temporary adaptation techniques designed for obsolescence in respect of collective memory and future flexibility for the next generations.
Before joining Alepreda Architecture in 2022, Alper was an interior architect at Deborah Berke Partners for eight years. There, he specialized in high-end residential and hospitality projects. His roster of projects included the conversion of a barn into an artist’s residence and the adaptive reuse of a landmark Ford factory building into a museum-hotel.
Courses
Fall 2024 Courses
LAEL 1017-01 - HISTORY OF INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE I: 1400-1850
LevelUndergraduate
UnitInterior Architecture
Subject Liberal Arts Elective
Period Fall 2024
Credits 3
FormatLecture
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date
LAEL 1017-01
HISTORY OF INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE I: 1400-1850
LevelUndergraduate
UnitInterior Architecture
Subject Liberal Arts Elective
PeriodFall 2024
Credits3
FormatLecture
ModeIn-Person
Start and End2024-09-04 to 2024-12-11
Times: W | 1:10 PM - 4:10 PMInstructor(s): Alper Besen, Barbara StehleLocation(s): College Building, Room 301Enrolled / Capacity: 20Status: Open
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This course will examine personalities working in Europe and in North America as well as non-western regions in the period 1400 to 2009. Areas of study will include an examination of interior architecture related issues that will be studied in the context of their social, political, technological, and economic circumstances, as they pertain to the design culture of the period. Special emphasis will be given to interior additions and renovations and other interventions. Other areas of study will include the development of architectural drawing, and the way in which designs often evolved through committees, or ongoing consultations among patrons, designers, administrators, and scholars. Attention will also be given to design theory, and the doctrines relating to site, orientation, proportion, decorum, and the commercial design market. A general background in the history of art and design is desirable but not mandatory.
Major Requirement | BFA Interior Studies
Spring 2025 Courses
LAEL 1027-01 - HISTORY OF INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE II: 1850 to Present
LevelUndergraduate
UnitInterior Architecture
Subject Liberal Arts Elective
Period Spring 2025
Credits 3
FormatLecture
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date
LAEL 1027-01
HISTORY OF INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE II: 1850 to Present
LevelUndergraduate
UnitInterior Architecture
Subject Liberal Arts Elective
PeriodSpring 2025
Credits3
FormatLecture
ModeIn-Person
Start and End2025-02-13 to 2025-05-23
Times: W | 1:10 PM - 4:10 PMInstructor(s): Alper BesenEnrolled / Capacity: 20Status: Open
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This course will examine the major designers working in the period 1850 to the present. Areas of study will include an examination of design related issues that will be studied in the context of their social, political, technological, and economic circumstances, as they pertain to the design culture of the period. Special emphasis will be given to the history of interior interventions, additions and renovations. Other areas of study will include the development of architectural drawing and other presentation media, and the way in which designs often evolved through committees, or ongoing consultations among the patrons, designers, administrators, and scholars. Attention will also be given to design theory, and the doctrines relating to site, orientation, proportion, decorum, and the commercial design market. A general background in the history of art and design is desirable but is not mandatory.
