Ekin Başkentli (1997) is an architect and researcher from Turkey, currently based in Belgium. She completed her Bachelor’s studies in Architecture at TED University (Ankara, Turkey). In 2020, she began her Master’s studies in Architecture at KU Leuven, graduating magna cum laude in 2022.
Her master’s thesis “Mending Wall: Documenting as an Act of Maintenance – Maintaining the Border Wall of Divided Nicosia” became the cornerstone of her academic trajectory. Focusing on the border wall in North Nicosia, the project employed architectural tools to uncover hidden spatial narratives of division. The thesis was awarded the Van Hove Prize 2022, the Dean’s Choice Prize 2022 of the International Master of Architecture (Ghent), and was selected as a finalist for the UNESCO HERSUS Prize on Modern Heritage 2023, co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the EU.
Ekin is currently a PhD researcher at KU Leuven with her project “Atlas Power: Dissecting and Unfolding the Dissonant Heritage of Nicosia, Cyprus.” Her research investigates the contested heritage of Europe’s last divided capital, where dominant political narratives often overshadow evolving spatial realities. The project uses atlas-making as both a spatial and epistemic tool. The atlas operates through two acts: (1) Dissection — deconstructing Nicosia’s existing spatial fabric to expose hidden dynamics, and (2) Unfolding — creating new spatial narratives through the production of architectural artefacts such as maps, drawings, sketches, and models. In doing so, it seeks to confront contested urban realities beyond fixed accounts of division. This research is funded by the FWO Fundamental Research Grant and is supervised by Professor Gisèle Gantois (research group Urban Projects, Collective Spaces and Local Identities) and co-supervised by Professor Rajesh Heynickx.