Tracing our Impact
Celebrating a decade of ATÖLYE
23
Awards won
57
Clients engaged
93
Projects completed
23
Communities activated
10 years of Community-Powered Impact
ATÖLYE was founded in 2013 with the purpose of cultivating fertile environments for individuals and organizations to thrive together, for the better.
Looking back, we are proud to see that we have since seeded and cultivated purpose-driven communities alongside some of the world’s most innovative leaders and organizations.
We have curated, engaged and activated communities with the leaders at BMW Foundation, formed new ones with Creative Leaders at Neol, and designed lasting social innovation platforms such as imece. We have supported startups like Toyi, fostered large networks such as Teachers Network (Öğretmen Ağı), and kick-started government communities with programs like Design Gov with entities such as the Dubai Future Foundation. We have designed a production-oriented and inclusive creative cluster, Al Najadah, supported New Lab’s Circular program, and worked on MIZA, a neighbourhood connecting people to place.
We have mobilized communities of impact around environmental and social crises such as Covid-19 or the recent earthquake that shook Türkiye and Syria.
We also grew our own communities of practice in Dubai and Amsterdam, and joined forces with the kyu collective, a group of 20+ inspiring design organizations with over 2500 individuals.
Along the way, our passion for creating a positive impact in the world grew, and in 2021 we became a B Corp certified organization, solidifying our commitment to people and planet.
This year, we've decided to highlight 6 projects that capture the value of community-powered transformation.
If there’s anything we’ve learned, it’s that community-generated impact doesn’t happen overnight. We have had the honor to develop long-term relationships with our partners and clients, and to witness the ripple effects of our networked approach to solving complex problems—whether it be a transformative program that changes the DNA of an organization, a spatial intervention that builds momentum as it gets utilized, or an innovation platform that takes on a life of its own as it grows. Explore the selection of impact stories ahead to learn about the work we’re most proud of from the past decade.
Along the way, we’ve distilled our insights and learnings into thought pieces to share with the world.
Here is a selection of our most popular insights and frameworks from the past 10 years.
"ATÖLYE has been an instrumental part of catalyzing the creative ecosystem and driving impact within Dubai, and UAE at large."
"ATÖLYE has brought an amazing level of creativity, dedication and adaptability as we worked on a multi-year program to launch an innovative educational platform."
"ATÖLYE shows us the potential of the creative solution and human imagination when people and communities as creator beings come together to address wicked problems."
"The ability to really quickly put together a team and just jump in... And not need to know exactly what's going to happen when and which order to move. And I can say as a client, I really value that."
"This is a community collective of people who really want to do things differently and who really care, right?”
"Being an ATÖLYE member is the best safety blanket to fall back on."
"I have perceived in ATÖLYE and its people that they have an incredible diversity. They come from so many different fields, such different depths and ranges of experience."
"ATÖLYE has a wonderful team that shows up with a unique level of commitment and passion to delivering good work."
"ATÖLYE has embedded us with the right mindsets, frameworks and tools to build and refine a robust community strategy at Miza and beyond."
A turbulent year, sprinkled with hope.
Looking back on 2023
As an organization with strong roots in the Middle East, 2023 proved to be a challenging year for us, marked by significant events such as the devastating earthquake in Türkiye and the war in Gaza. Despite these obstacles, our team and community demonstrated remarkable resilience and unity, while continuing to grow the ATÖLYE footprint in the world.
On the project front, our team completed 23 large-scale projects focused on education, health, sustainability, digital innovation, and community development, collaborating with esteemed clients including NEOM, Dubai International Finance Centre, and the leading lifestyle and health conglomerate in Türkiye. We launched our sustainability and community portfolios, alongside our existing architecture and academy ones, strengthening our offering across multiple geographies.
In the face of adversity, we set up a disaster solidarity network and spoke up in the face of injustice. We hosted recurring events in our Istanbul and Dubai hubs — including Unfold, Facilitation Jams, and Human After All, deepening partnerships with fellow communities like eka, Notion and What Design Can Do. We continued growing our communities in Dubai and Istanbul, and began seeding a community of changemakers in Amsterdam, and developed exciting partnerships on the ground in Riyadh.
We had the pleasure of hosting insightful conversations at COP28 alongside the kyu collective, and participating in Dutch Design Week with Tete-a-Terra. Our team spoke on global stages like B For Good Leaders, Index Riyadh, House of Beautiful Business, ImpactFest, CMX Summit and more. We launched the ATÖLYE Insights Podcast, and supported the launch of our sister company Neol.
To close the year, we celebrated our 10th year anniversary with a bang in our Istanbul hub alongside our community, new and old.
Looking ahead, our focus remains on strengthening connections and deepening relationships within and outside of our networks, and expanding our know-how in community-powered transformation — because we believe building trust and collaboration is paramount to addressing the world’s most pressing challenges.
In the words of an African proverb, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
Previous years of Tracing our Impact:
A turbulent year, sprinkled with hope.
Looking back on 2023
0
Projects0
Public Events0
Total ReachWe are proud to have partnered with leading global organizations over the past ten years, and humbled by the recognition our work has received.
Gold Award Winner, Pioneers of Change
Abdi İbrahim, 2021
Winner, Interior Design
Sezin School, 2020
Notable Mention,
Turkcell CX Lab, 2020