Korkut Onaran
Assistant Professor Adjunct
- Urban and Regional Planning Department
Korkut Onaran, Ph.D., is an urban designer and planner, architect, teacher, and scholar with a broad knowledge of environmental systems and regulation cultures. His recent books include Urbanism for a Difficult Future: Practical Responses to Climate Crisis (Routledge 2022), Crafting Form-Based Codes: Resilient Design, Policy and Regulation (Routledge 2018), and Architectural Design for Traditional Neighborhoods (co-authored with F. Pages Ruiz, R. Pelusio, and T. Lyon) (VSI 2019).
Korkut formed Pel-Ona Architects & Urbanists with his business partner Ronnie in 2010. He has been teaching as an adjunct profession in the College of Architecture and Planning at CU Denver since 1997. He was honored as the Mentor of the Year by AIA Colorado North in 2007. He was the president of CNU Colorado between 2008 and 2018. He has served as a commissioner on the Longmont Historic Preservation Commission (2017-2019) and Longmont Planning and Zoning Commission (2020 – 2022). Currently he is a board member of Longmont Sustainability Advisory Board. Korkut received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Architecture at Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey, and his Ph.D. in Environmental Studies at University of Wisconsin-Madison. His poetry books include The Trident Poems (World Enough Writers, 2018), and Istanbul’s Tulip (Wordtech Communications, 2023)
Courses
MOST RECENT COURSES
- Design Policy/Regulation
- Small Town, Rural, and Resort Planning
- Sustainable Tourism Planning in Greece
- Planning Project Studio
- City Design Policy
- Directed Studies in Turkey: Multi-Level Planning and Urban Design Studio (A six-credit study abroad program)
Areas of Expertise
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Land use/environmental planning, urban design, growth management, historic preservationEducation, Licensure & Certifications
DEGREES HELD
- 1996 Ph.D. in Environmental Studies Institute of Environmental Studies / Land Resources Program in University of Wisconsin - Madison. The dissertation title: “Official attitudes, regulation cultures, and practical interactions in design review: A study in Wisconsin's communities.” Study under the direction of Prof. Fahriye Sancar.
- 1990 Master in Architecture; School of Architecture, Middle East Technical University, Ankara
Thesis: “A search for aesthetics of urban morphology”
Project title: Design of a sequence of urban terraces and plazas in historic center of Ankara.
Area of research and study: History of and theories in urban design. - 1987 Bachelor of Architecture, honors School of Architecture, Middle East Technical University, Ankara
Awards
PROFESSIONAL AWARDS
- October 2007 AIA Colorado North 2007 Mentor of the Year Award
- July, 1995 Fifth Prize in the national competition for Opera House and Performing Arts Center in Ankara issued by the Turkish Ministry of Culture (Entry with a group formed by K. Onaran, Y. Eskinat, O. Arslan, H. Simsek)
- October, 1989 Second Prize in the national competition of Commercial, Cultural and Recreational Complex in Kusadasi, issued by the Municipality of Kusadasi. (Entry with a group formed by K. Onaran, A. Uysal, A. Ergulec).
- February, 1989 Fifth Prize in the national competition for Gaziantep Recreational Zone Master Plan issued by the Municipality of Gaziantep. (Entry with the Bademli Planning Team; R. Bademli, O. Kiral, Z. Ulkenli, F. Erkal)
- October, 1988 First Prize in the national competition “Small House and Its Different Applications” issued by KAM (Housing Research Center) of METU.
- February, 1988 Fourth Prize in the national competition “Conservation Master Plan for Castle District in Ankara” issued by the Municipality of Altindag, Ankara. (Entry with a group formed by A.O.Ozturk, K.Onaran, A.Ardicoglu, H.Butuner).
OTHER ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- Published poetry in several journals and anthologies. Received Second Prize in 2006 Baltimore Review’s annual poetry competition.
- Performances as a tenor in early Music Singers of Colorado, singing a cappella choir music from 15th and 16th centuries.