Universal Tourist Headquarters
Dilay Bakici
The Universal Tourist Headquarters is an architects’ office and cultural hub that explores the evolving relationship between tourism, labour, and public participation within the contemporary city. Developed as an extension of the wider Universal Tourist project, the proposal creates a permanent base for researching, exhibiting, and producing future urban interventions while reflecting on the blurred boundaries between tourists and workers. Located within the City of London, the project combines professional studio spaces with public programmes, creating a shared environment where architecture becomes both a workplace and a platform for interaction. The headquarters includes an exhibition space dedicated to displaying previous Universal Tourist interventions and mapping their locations across different global cities, allowing visitors to engage with the growing archive of speculative urban occupations. Alongside this, workshop spaces encourage members of the public to participate in discussions, drawings, and the development of new intervention ideas, transforming the project into an evolving collaborative process rather than a static institution. Architecturally, the proposal prioritises transparency, adaptability, and low-carbon construction through the use of a glulam structural frame with CLT floor and wall panels. Through the integration of workspace, exhibition, and public engagement, the Universal Tourist Headquarters becomes both an operational studio and a civic platform that questions systems of exclusivity, occupation, and belonging within the contemporary city.
I am a Part 1 BA Architecture student with a particular interest in sustainability and storytelling through technical design choices. Alongside my academic work, I am the President of the Architecture + Cities Climate Action Taskforce, where I engage with discussions surrounding environmental responsibility and the future of the built environment. My interests in materiality, low-carbon construction, and socially driven architecture have informed the development of my undergraduate projects, ultimately leading to my final major design project, which explores architecture as a mediator between identity, occupation, and urban experience.
Universal Tourist Exhibition Space
Display of the "Pod of the Year"
Views from the Viewing Deck
Design your own Universal Tourist
Viewing deck
