Image above: Summer house in Ilia prefecture , West Peloponnese . Architects: Betty Tsaousi (YAW ARCHITECTURE, btsaousi@gmail.com ) and Despina Sotiriou. Escape signifies the return to a comfortable rurality or a remote, extreme countryside(?). Itinerary no1 (stop no4 ) throughout Athens City, (the core of the commercial center): “Athens City Center: a transitional point. From investors’ high end expectations to working class rematch.” ARCH POINTS architectural tours, 14th of May 2016.
A three-day event, ARCH POINTS is a series of 5 guided tours in the city of Athens, showcasing its architecture and the young professional architects living and working, within the Greek capital ravaged by the economic crisis. ESCAPE is the focal point-theme, triggering the creative ideas, plans, constructions and finished products of seventeen studios- proposing an entire re-invention and re-mediation of the architectural discipline, also essential for the sector’s survival. At the same time, the guided tours in the multilayered city of Athens-full of old and new wonders or/and “sins” in terms of architectural planning- reveal many unknown aspects of the heart of the town, through a contemporary approach to the Athenian urban landscape.
A4D-D4A followed three of the five itineraries , dedicated to different issues , revolving around the notion of Escape and the city today. A.The Athens City - the Commercial Center Transformation of Real Estate, b.the Evolution of the Athenian Apartment block and the c.Relativity to the Sea frontier- exposed three routes respectively, where one discovers the participants architects’ offices situated on each of them –but also natural and architectural milestones, defining the city’s (new) character.
See bellow, from top to bottom:
Athens China Town- The upper-middle class lofts in the old Silk Factory working class quarters (Metaxourgeio)- 1950’s residential apartments in Heraklitou str, Kolonaki- Graffiti (“ I am tortured (gr.:"βασανίζομαι“) near Athens Stock market.- The wild flora of the National Garden , next to the Parliament, near the ancient Ilissos river stream.
The business of architecture evokes many new challenges, given the circumstances of the economic and environmental crisis. In times like this, the architect becomes a restorer and renovator, more than a strict builder or maker, crossing the platforms of other fields in applied arts and techniques. Extroversy , flexibility , escape from immobility, decentralization of services, co-operability, adaptation of art narratives and intelligent technology (supported by the architects toolkit) : those are the attributes of the new architect in the city of Athens, exploring a wide range of solutions in order to attain professional sustainability. The cheerful disposition of all the architects presenting projects on ESCAPE by ARCH POINTS was overwhelming – nevertheless here follow some of the highlights in the three itineraries mentioned earlier.
From top to bottom:
Vasileios Ntovros, Pittaki str. quarters light installation, "Imagine the City"-
4k architects, Escape mapping game-
Diofantou6, outdoor sunshade constructions- VM Architects, Hidden Landscapes (3D printouts, spooled out algorithmically generated diagrams of intangible spaces).
You can also visit:
ARCH POINTS official website: www.archpoints.gr
Special thanks to: the architects-guides of the tours, Eleni Patatouka, Anastasia Koutoumanou, Aggeliki Latani and Fanis Kafantaris and the Press officer of ARCH POINTS (all mighty) Christina Zafeirouli. We are so looking forward for next year's edition ARCH POINTS 2017!
Warm regards;-))
A4D-D4A
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