Tala Al Ansari, Executive Advisor at ATÖLYE, and Engin Ayaz, Co-founder and CEO of ATÖLYE, explore how community-driven design is shaping the future of cities, organizations, and innovation.
We dive into ATÖLYE’s journey from a small creative hub in Istanbul to a global multidisciplinary consultancy working across Europe and the Middle East. At the core of their work is a powerful idea: building strong, diverse communities is not a side activity, it’s the strategy.
Tala and Engin unpack what truly defines a community (and why it’s not the same as an audience), the importance of blending physical and digital spaces, and why meaningful community-building takes time, intention, and trust. They also share practical insights on diversity, curation, and how to avoid “community bubbles” by fostering cross-disciplinary collaboration.
The episode closes with a simple but powerful principle: create more value than you capture.
Useful links by our guests:
Community Playbook
https://atolye.io/community-playbook/
Public resource on community strategy and design
https://www.communitypowered.io/
A select set of case studies
12 years of articles on design, innovation and communities
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Keep Up the Good Work. Keep Loving Cities ❤️️
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All opinions expressed in each episode are personal to the guest and do not represent the Host of Urbanistica Podcast unless otherwise stated.
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Thanks to Urbanistica Podcast partner AFRY (Urban Planning and Design)
AFRY is an international engineering and design company providing sustainable solutions in the fields of energy, industry, and infrastructure.