Theo Svoronos - folio of works 2010-2015

Theo Svoronosarchitectural

folio of works 2010-2015

I am a young architect, graduate of the Department of Architecture of the Univer-sity of Patras, the top school of architecture in Greece. Having just finished my studies, I am looking for inspiring environments that suit my mentality, to begin a passionate career. I am highly motivated to broaden my experience by working in international challeng-ing environments and always learn new ways to design and work. I am a hard working person, optimistic, ambitious, responsible and interested in the quality of the result. I have excellent communicative skills and consider myself an adaptable, enthusiastic and team oriented person. I value architecture as a creative process of constantly reinventing and challenging the world as we know it. I strongly believe in architecture’s capacity to influence both individual and collective experiences, in its power to shape mentalities and affect the quality of living. I am interested in concept driven architecture, materiality and construction detail, ecological and sustainable approach in design as well as the social benefits it can deliver.

INDEPENDENT COURSEwORK 2014 Cob Workshop - Natural Building and Design 2014 Panorama of Entrepreneurship and Career Development 2013 Film direction, theory and production Seminar/Masterclasses 2012 “Ab_Use” computation and design Workshop 2011 Sens[e-Res]ponsive Architecture Workshop 2008 EcoWeek Architecture Seminar

AwARDS AND DISTINCTIONS

- Villard13 - ReUse: “strategie sostenibili di riqualificazione urbana”, 2013 Project for European Student Workshop, Quartu, Sant Elena 1rst Prize

- Island Shelter, 2015 - Athens after 2005: Immigration and Urban Transformations, 2013 Design Master Thesis and Research Master Thesis Published in “greekarchitects.gr”, in A2610 Workbook and the official school website

- Family House, 2009 - “Green Veil” House Block, 2010 - Collective Housing and urban farming, 2011 - Cinema Complex, waste Energy Plant and Park, 2012 Projects for Design Studios Published in A2610 Workbook of the year and the official school website

- “Flow”, 2010 Video Art Project for Visual Arts Studio official entry in “Athens Video Art Festival 2010” and “A.S.T.O. Short Film Festival”

COMPUTER SKILLS

AutoCad, Adobe Suite, 3dStudio Max, Rhinoceros, Sketch up

LANGUAGE SKILLS

Greek (native proficiency) English (professional working proficiency) Spanish (intermediate) French (beginner)

OTHER INTERESTS

cinema, literature, psychology, photography, running, basketball

REFERENCES

Yannis Aesopos [email protected] +30 210 6899100

Dirk Peters [email protected] +31 (0)104256650

Harris Biskos [email protected] +30 210 345 2856

Theo Svoronos

adress // Anapiron Polemou 5, Athense-mail // [email protected]

tel. // 0030 - 6979012729

ACADEMIC wORK

“Hortus Apertus” Island Shelter, 2015 Design Master Thesis Published in “greekarchitects.gr”

Athens after 2005: Immigration and Urban Transformations, 2013 Research Master Thesis Published in “greekarchitects.gr”

Cinema Complex, waste Energy Plant and Park, 2012 Project for Design Studio No8 Published in A2610 Workbook of the year and the official wedsite of the school

“Eleonas Platform” collective housing and urban farming, 2011 Project for Design Studio No7 Published in A2610 Workbook of the year and the official wedsite of the school

“Green Veil” House Block, 2010 Project for Design Studio No4 Published in A2610 Workbook of the year

Small House with Bookstore, 2012 Project for Sustailable Design Studio No1

PROFFESSIONAL wORK

“Tourism Landscapes” Remaking Greece, 2014 Greek Participation in the 14th International Architecture Exhibition Professional project for the Ministry of Culture, under Yannis Aesopos

Athens Do-It-Together, Athens, 2014 Professional urban project for the Municipality of Athens, under Charris Biskos

p. 2

p. 22

p. 28

p. 32

p. 40

p. 44

p. 48

p. 52

3

[01]

“Hortus Apertus”Island Shelter

Design Master Thesis, 2015

published: “greekarchitects.gr”

with: Giorgos Kourakostutor: Yannis Aesopos

The uniqueness of the Strofades Is-lands is easily perceived through a single visit in this isolated and almost secret place of the Ion-ian Sea -a uniqueness not only in its geographi-cal and geological features but also in its course over the centuries.

The Islands’ various habitats are com-posed of rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, fertile soil, uncultivated and bushy fields and a dense cedar forest. The ‘fragile’ geology of the island complex is exposed to the almost oceanic cli-

The site

mate – the waves are constantly altering the coastline by shattering the rocky borders of the land, while the land is constantly stormed by the mighty salty winds. The ‘fight’ will be going on till the Strofades find themselves in the same state as the nearby reefs -a small archipelago vis-ited almost exclusively by migratory sea birds. However, the human presence is obvi-ous from several kilometers away. The medieval tower of the Strofades’ Monastery in the south island, Stamfani, stands out in the flat landscape - historically a home of 40 monks, whose herit-

age is now preserved by one last elderly monk. The cultivated fields of Stamfani are still active under the auspices of the Holy Metropolis of Zakynthos and Strophades and the National Marine Park of Zakynthos. The latter provides the islands with two seasonal guards for the en-vironmental watch of the vulnerable to human presence habitats.

The north island, Harpyia, with its two small ruined houses is now deserted. Its name is a reference to the Argonauts’ detour (strofe ->

Strofades) to chase the Harpies via the islands - the mythological flying monsters, which are now identified as the migratory seabirds Cory’s shearwater, which nest and breed on the islands during summer and their cries during the night are very distinctive and maybe ‘haunting’. They are object of observation and research of the other seasonal visitors of the island, ornitholo-gists and biologists.

5

Our first objective is to activate the larger Island Stamfani, by giving prominence to its unique existing features, conservatively according to specific regulations that engage the ecosystems of the National Marine Park of Zakynthos. The Monastery would be restored after a study of the Department of Architec-ture of the University of Patras, which provides the accommodation of six monks and a mini-mum amount of short term guests. The NMPZ would acquire new facilities for the accommo-dation of the seasonal guards and an independ-ent accommodating and research facility for 8 researchers/scientists. Also, a reception area and 3 paths would be defined for one day visitors to explore the Islands’ ecology and history without giving space to any further human intervention to the sensitive habitats. The use of local struc-tural elements (e.g. rammed earth, local stones, reeds, parched cedar logs) would be necessary.

Nonfictional activation: Ecological and Culture routes (or a day in Nature)

[01]

“Hortus Apertus”Island Shelter

Design Master Thesis, 2015

published: “greekarchitects.gr”


On Harpyia Island, which is of less ecological importance, we imagine an allegory of a religious monastery, where 20-40 people could take shelter, inhabiting this desolate land-scape. The communal life will be characterised by an institutionalised nature observation ‘ritu-al’, which would promote the complex compre-hension of the constantly changing structure not only of nature but of contemporary life in general. The effect of the natural phenomena on the islands is so violently perceptible, that this specific site could function as a unique living space of an experimental self-sufficient commu-nity.

Fictional activation: Shelter (or Inverted Monastery Cloister)

Its inhabitants would live in small individual shelters and would be organized according to two separate communal life principles. The first would be the functional or nonfictional one and the second would be the institutionalised or fic-tional one. The first would be composed of the fulfillment of basic individual and communal needs, i.e. the physical communication via two safe little harbours and supplies storage facilities, twenty small dwellings/shelters, the production and preparation of food on small gardens and the common kitchen with a large dining room, the communal assembly and the communal li-brary with communication facilities. Each of these spaces corresponds to a different level of

individuality in an every society, from the most individual (dwelling shelter) to the most com-munal (library). The second principle would be what makes the community come together in a different level through an everyday ‘ritual’. It would be expressed by a path which would con-nect the four points of Harpyia most exposed to the natural phenomena of precipitation, wind, tide and waves, and the sun. The observation of the ever-changing natural scene on the ‘ritual path’ would be intensified by the local flora and fauna. The path would be the reference point of everyday life in the community, setting at the same time a different counting of the calendar year in the imaginary structures that bring com-munities together.

6General Masterplan Masterplan (+3.00)

7

Προσαρμογή στην γεωμετρία του νησιού και

επιλογή στρατηγικών σημείων για τα επιμέρους

προγράμματα

πορεία 1: τελετουργική διαδορμή(σφαίρα κοινονικοποίησης 1)βιοματικός περίπατος και σημεία αναφοράς για την κατανόηση της αέναης φυσικής αλλαγής

1 2

3

1

2

3

πορεία 2: λειτουργική διαδρομή(σφαίρα κοινονικοποίησης 2)κοινοτικά προγράμματα καθημερινής χρήσης και σημεία συνάντησης

πορεία 3: τροφοδοσία κοινότητας - επικοινωνία λιμένων/αποθηκών

Προσαρμογή στο ανάγλυφο του

εδάφους και τους φυσικούς

περιορισμούς

Σύνθεση και σταθεροποίηση των διαδρομών και των

κόμβων.

Ατομική σφαίρα

Ανατολή

Ορθόδοξο μοναστήρι

Ιερό στοιχείο, περίκλειστος κήπος και κτηριακός όγκος σε μοναστηριακές

δομές:

Καθολικό μοναστήρι

Βουδιστικό μοναστήρι

Το αίθριο περικλύει τον ναό

Το αίθριο ορίζεται από τον ναό

Το αίθριο είναι ναός

Ιερό/συνεκτικό στοιχέιο:ροϊκή αναπτυξη, παρόν σε όλη την έκταση της κοινότητας/

πραγματικότητας

Χωροθέτηση:Γραμμική οργάνωση χώρων, με

σταδιακή μετάβαση από την ατομική προς την συλλογική

σφαίρα.

Δύση

Συλλογική σφαίρα

Hermit Settlement around the hermit - small temple

Irish monastery: in�uenced by hermits, Egyptian and

Syrian monasteries

Monastery typology of the cloister and the “Hortus Conclusus”

New cloisters added to recieve more monks

Complex building typologies hosting a variety of new

programs

Source: Walter Horn, "On the Origins of the Medieval Cloister" Gesta 12.1/2 (1973:13-52)

Τελετουργική διαδρομή σαν θεατρικό σκηνικό:

κάθετη προβολή του τοπίουστις ενότητες (εποχικές μεταβολές)

του κήπου

Φυσική τοπογραφία

Προσαρμογή επιπέδων κήπου

excess need of enclosure/protection:abolition of the cloister

abstract diagram:enclosed sacred element

sacred element ever present and accessible:parallel development

deconstruction of the wing into entities, linear garden as a bu�er zone between sacred and functional realm.

Intersection of the realms: buildings/programs are located on

the nods as a common ground.

Gradient distribution (private-collective), according to

monastery life.

σχολή

ναόςπαρεκκλήσιαμνήματα

βιβλιοθήκη

ηγουμενείο

αποθήκευσηπαραγωγή

ξενώνεςabbot

κελιά

τράπεζακουζίνα

dwelling/cells

production

administration

education

category refers to new typeprogram

sacred element

team

individual ατομική σφαίρα

συλλογική σφαίρα

community

humanity

sacred/transcendental

ιερό

στο

ιχεί

ο

1. έμφαση στο δίπολο “ατομικό-συλλογικό”

2. ανάδειξη του φυσικού στοιχείο σαν ιερό για την κοινότητα

3. ιερό στοιχείο πάντα παρόν και προσβάσιμο στην καθημερινότητα

Βασικές προθέσεις:

1. Βραχώδες τοπίο - δυνατοί άνεμοι

Ανάλυση της νήσου: Σύνθεση: Κήπος - το πεδίο σύνδεσης των δύο πεδίων:

Κινήσεις:

Μή προσβάσιμη περιοχή

Ήδη προσβάσιμη περιοχή

2. Βορινή ακτή - απότομές μεταβάσεις3. Πυκνή βλάστηση -αποπροσανατολισμός4. “Λιβάδι”

7. Ξέφωτα - μικρές εποχιακές λίμνες

5. Επιβλητική παρουσία του λόφου/κτισμάτων6. Προστατευμένη περιοχή από έντονους ανέμους

8. Λιμάνι_Καραβοστάσι

9. Ισθμός - Πέρασμα ανέμων10. Νοτιότερο ύψωμα, θέα προς Σταμφάνη

Τελετουργική διαδρομη: Γεωμετρική απλούστευση των

κυρίαρχων τοπογραφικών χαρακτηριστικών του νησιού,

ισχυρή χάραξη στο τοπίο.

Λειτουργική διαδρομή: Σύνδεση σημείων με τον συντομότερο τρόπο

και με τις ελάχιστες υψομετρικές διαφορές, απόλυτη προσαρμογή στο υπάρχον φυσικό

έδαφος

2

4

1

3

7

6

8

9

10

8

5

Εύκολα προσβάσιμη περιοχή





1 2

3

1

2

3







κόμβων.


Ανατολή



δομές:










σφαίρα.

Δύση




Syrian monasteries




programs




του κήπου










monastery life.

σχολή





ξενώνεςabbot

κελιά


dwelling/cells

production

administration

education


sacred element

team



community

humanity


ιερό

στο

ιχεί

ο







Κινήσεις:













έδαφος

2

4

1

3

7

6

8

9

10

8

5






1 2

3

1

2

3







κόμβων.


Ανατολή



δομές:










σφαίρα.

Δύση




Syrian monasteries




programs




του κήπου










monastery life.

σχολή





ξενώνεςabbot

κελιά


dwelling/cells

production

administration

education


sacred element

team



community

humanity


ιερό

στο

ιχεί

ο







Κινήσεις:













έδαφος

2

4

1

3

7

6

8

9

10

8

5


individual

sacr

ed e

lem

ent

collective

8The Shelter - Cell entrances

9The Shelter - Cells

10

The place of dwelling also expresses the gener-al investigation of the concept of the flow and constant change. Is thus found irrelevant to form a monastery cell, a protective bubble of inclusion. The cell is organ-ised in a linear plan, that concludes to the sea, providing the dweller with the nessesary reference of a starting and finishing point of everyday life and prosseses, but not allowing the mental differentiation of “inside-out-side“. The cell is designed to produce a linear se-quence of different experiences by entering. It follows principals involved in rituals (as the dive in through nar-row, dark opening, the revealing of a new reality, clens-ing and purification ect). It acts as a prossess of prepara-tion for a more esoteric and personal state.

The every-day ritual


Rhino/Illustrator: Theo Svoronos

14The Shelter - Kitchen

15The Shelter - Kitchen

16The Shelter - Agora

17The Shelter - Agora

18Non fictional activation - Guard, Researcher and Visitor facilities

19Guard facilities

Existing routes and paths 3 new thematical pathsPlaces of interest

Pilgrimage Line Eco Line Tourist Line

Rest stopCultureNatural beautyEcology

1790m 1805m2760m

1

2

4

3

7

8

6

9

10

11

1

2

311

12

5

1

4

12

5

7

8

6

9

10

5

Existing routes and paths 3 new thematical pathsPlaces of interest

Pilgrimage Line Eco Line Tourist Line

Rest stopCultureNatural beautyEcology

1790m 1805m2760m

1

2

4

3

7

8

6

9

10

11

1

2

311

12

5

1

4

12

5

7

8

6

9

10

5

20Non fictional activation - Researcher and Visitor facilities

21Researcher and Visitor facilities

23

The present research thesis addresses the local implications of the global immigration phenomenon of our era. Aim is to investigate and assess the urban transformations that pres-ently take place in Athens, triggered by it - par-tially or merely. While present political leadership in Europe, expresses the view that the shift towards a multicultural society was a wrong turn that EU needs to rethink, Greece is found in an unprece-dentedly multicultural social condition, as well as in the process of sensitive social, economical and cultural reform. The research in the effects and transformation caused by immigration in Athens, as an attempt to evaluate present urban reality, is therefore found crucial and topical.

Introduction Structure

[02]

Athens after 2005: Immigration and Urban Transformations

Research Master Thesis, 2013published in “greekarchitects.gr”

tutor: Yannis Aesopos

The issue of altered, inaccessible or missing data, lead the project to resort to field research: Interviews with locals and immigrants in key spots, mapping of commercial activities and door to door visits, were used to fill the gaps where needed.

Despite the globalized nature of im-migration, the present thesis does not focus on that level. On the contrary, main effort is the listing and analyzing of local implications of the phenomenon. That would allow us to come to specific conclusions that concern the local com-munity, and avoid generalized observations in a larger, irrelevant scale.

Laying a common ground with the reader, useful terms, immigration policies and local cultural aspects are introduced. Theoreti-cal models explaining immigration are also pre-sented, in order to allow for personal points of view on the reader to be developed, before going into further details. The paper’s main part, the research on Athenian transformations, is divided into 3 parts:

1. the distribution and characteristics of mi-grant households and the way they reshape the urban landscape, 2. the influence of immigration on urban public space, and 3. the effects of the city’s re-actions to these trig-gers. During every step of this multi-leve-led research, observations are made in order to work towards a final conclusion.

24

77%

of i

mm

igra

nts

find

a jo

b th

roug

h fr

iend

s an

d re

lativ

es

prud

ucin

g 30

% o

f GD

P of

Gre

ece

51%

wor

kers

indu

stry

/bui

ldin

g/fa

rmin

g,

32%

ser

vice

, car

e 12

% o

ffice

em

ploy

ee/v

endo

rs,

5% s

cien

tists

/ te

chni

sian

s/bu

ssin

ess

owne

rs.

and

67%

wor

ks il

lega

ly

(no

insu

ranc

e)

12%

of t

otal

Gre

ek p

opul

ation

is

imm

igra

nts

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

36%

of t

he A

then

ean

popu

latio

n,

is im

mig

rant

s

owni

ng 7

% o

f its

hou

sing

pr

opet

ries

50%

live

s in

Ath

ens,

40%

of w

hich

in

the

Mun

icip

ality

of A

then

sCountry of origin (arrested illegal immigrants in Athens), 2011:Source: To Vima

Source: National Statistical Service, Eurostat 2012

Area of residence (immigrants in Athens), 2011:Source: To Vima

20,1% Other

0,9% Τυνησία

3,8 % Συρία

2,6% Somalia

2,1% Παλαιστίνη

14,4% Pakistan

total12.269

9,4% Bangladesh

3,9% Μαρόκο

1,4% Κονγκό

1,2% Iran2,9% Irak

1,7% Ερυθραία

23% Afganistan

12,4% Albania

tota

l

tota

l

tota

l

AsiaEurope Africa

1.25

9.90

0

655.

780

7% 77%

67%

30%

10.8

15.1

97

arround Athens

Municipality of Athens

Piraeus

West suburbs

South suburbs

North-east suburbs

43.8 %

15.9 %

14.7 %

9.9 %

10 %

5.7 %

5 %

10 %

15 %

20 %

25 %

30 %

= Paris

= Tokyo2%

= Rio De Janeiro5%

= Barcelona14%

20%

= San Francisco30%

= Miami, London37%

1991 2001 2004 2009 2011

Colla

pse

of U

SSR Dub

lin ΙΙ

Oly

mpi

c G

ames

Ara

b Sp

ring

Mem

oran

dum

EU

,ECB

, IM

F

1951

250

500

750

1000

1250

1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2005 2011 2012

51% Albania

19% Developed countries

15% Developing countries

30 171,4

796,7

1.259,9

975,4

15% Central/West Europe

population in thousands

percentage in total population

Colla

pse

of U

SSR

Dub

lin ΙΙ Oly

mpi

c G

ames

Ara

b Sp

ring

Mem

oran

dum

EU

,ECB

, IM

F

0 %

2 %

6 %

15 %

16 %

25 %

30 %

12 %

11 %

0 %

0 %

0 %

1 %

2 %

7 %

7,5 %

20 %

50 %

7th

6th

5th

4th

3rd

2nd

1rst

ground

basement

ownership rental

0 %

2 %

6 %

15 %

16 %

25 %

30 %

12 %

11 %

0 %

0 %

0 %

1 %

2 %

7 %

7,5 %

20 %

50 %

7th

6th

5th

4th

3rd

2nd

1rst

ground

basement

ownership rental

Country of origin (arrested illegal immigrants in Athens, 2011)

Immigrant percentage of total population in Greece

Immigrant houshold distribution in Athens, by floor

Sources: Ministry of Public Order & Citizen Protection, To Vima

Sources: Hellenic Statistical Authority, «Globalization, Urbanization and Migration»

Sources: Geographies, νο 19, 2012, D. Balabanides (2012)

77% of immigrants find a job through friends and relatives

pruducing 30% of GDP of Greece

51% workers industry/building/farming, 32% service, care 12% office employee/vendors,5% scientists/ technisians/bussiness owners.

and 67% works illegaly (no insurance)

12% of total Greek population is immigrants1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

36% of the Athenean population, is immigrants

owning 7% of its housing propetries

50% lives in Athens, 40% of which in the Municipality of Athens

Country of origin (arrested illegal imm

igrants in Athens), 2011:Source: To Vim

a


Area of residence (im

migrants in Athens), 2011:

Source: To Vima

20,1% O

ther

0,9% Τυνησία

3,8 % Συρία

2,6% Som

alia

2,1% Π

αλαιστίνη

14,4% Pakistan

total12.269

9,4% Bangladesh

3,9% Μ

αρόκο

1,4% Κονγκό

1,2% Iran

2,9% Irak


23% A

fganistan

12,4% A

lbania

total

total

total

Asia

EuropeA

frica

1.259.900

655.780

7%

77%

67%

30%

10.815.197

arround Athens

Municipality of

Athens

Piraeus

West suburbs

South suburbs

North-east suburbs

43.8 %

15.9 %

14.7 %

9.9 %

10 %

5.7 %

77% of immigrants find a job through friends and relatives

pruducing 30% of GDP of Greece

51% workers industry/building/farming, 32% service, care 12% office employee/vendors,5% scientists/ technisians/bussiness owners.

and 67% works illegaly (no insurance)

12% of total Greek population is immigrants1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

36% of the Athenean population, is immigrants

owning 7% of its housing propetries

50% lives in Athens, 40% of which in the Municipality of Athens

Country of origin (arrested illegal imm

igrants in Athens), 2011:Source: To Vim

a


Area of residence (im

migrants in Athens), 2011:

Source: To Vima

20,1% O

ther

0,9% Τυνησία

3,8 % Συρία

2,6% Som

alia

2,1% Π

αλαιστίνη

14,4% Pakistan

total12.269

9,4% Bangladesh

3,9% Μ

αρόκο

1,4% Κονγκό

1,2% Iran

2,9% Irak


23% A

fganistan

12,4% A

lbania

total

total

total

Asia

EuropeA

frica

1.259.900

655.780

7%

77%

67%

30%

10.815.197

arround Athens

Municipality of

Athens

Piraeus

West suburbs

South suburbs

North-east suburbs

43.8 %

15.9 %

14.7 %

9.9 %

10 %

5.7 %

25

Immigrant household distribution, 2013

based on personal field research

Immigrant household distribution, 2001

26

immigrant shopsimmigrant places of religion

abandoned shopsimmigrant related NGOs(by size)

(by size) (by type)

(by number) (by number)

immigrant community centers

abandoned buildings

27

Athens is depicted by the research foundings as a city undergoing a rapid change of structure (social and spatial).

These foundings can be presented in 3 categories:

1. movement/relocation of specific activities, characteristics and qualities in the urban environment

2. the rise of new aspects/properties of public space in Athens

3. emerging new social balance and its spatial expressions

cat. 1

cat. 2

cat. 3

Foundings/Conclusion:

Vertical segregation - Greek “Polykatoikia”

Rising importance of the neighborhood

Re-locationof housing

«Super-diversity» Social introversion - the thrive of the Private

New social roles of public space

(De) Centralization

Cultural significance of different localities

Fragmentation and polarization of space

?

Rising social impor-tance of space

Reverse (De) Central-ization

New use of public space






(De) Centralization



?









(De) Centralization



?




1. Immigrants inhabit and revitalize areas that were abandoned during the decentral-ization of the last decades and the movement of the middle class towards the suburbs. That pre-vented the gentrification of the city center by the reintroduction of dwelling (preservation of multiple programs coexisting) and the simulta-neous presence of various classes (using vertical segregation allowed by the type of the Greek multistoried “polykatoikia”). At the same time,

an other process of decentralization takes place: immigrant households move to the center pe-riphery, state services trying to attract vulnera-ble social groups are relocated to the outskirts of the city, and commercial activity seems to reorganize and concentrate in bubbles towards the suburbs.

2. Despite the social introversion that was detected, research in every level showed the rising importance of public space: rein-forcement of the role of the neighborhood, at-tachment of cultural elements on public space, , increasing appropriation of public space and use as an informal extension of the household, unifying role as common reference of different ethnic groups and as a binding element that leads to the formation of new social groups.

3. Social groups -and personal iden-tities- are rapidly becoming cross linked, ever changing and harder to define. In this context of “super-diversity”, social and spatial segrega-tion are unlinked from one another. However, it seems that public space in return, has fragment-ed into defined places of homogeneous char-acter, often being the fundamental connecting aspect between individuals.

29

Introduction

The project involves the re-design of a “terrain vague”, a residual landscape between highways and watercourses. We suggest the in-troduction of two programs along with an ex-perimental park: a cinema complex and a waste energy plant (commercial and industrial). The collision between the natural and the artificial element is obvious throughout the site. As a result, the constant changes -due to mechanical interventions, informal temporary shelters, the erosion of land, the sequence of the seasons, and many more unpredictable forces- were the starting point of a search into the no-tion of the manipulation/inscription of time.

[03]

Cinema Complex, waste Energy Plant and Park

project for Design Studio No8, 2012published in A2610 Workbook of the year and the official wedsite of the school

with: Giorgos Kourakostutor: Panos Dragonas

The cinema complex ‘swings’ between two notions, the spectacle and the time (either natural time – spectator, or artificial time – di-rection or montage). Our programmatical alle-gory explores the relationship between the two realms and the power of the “machine” to en-tangle them.

Our project aspires both to balance these elements and to combine them spatially and conceptually, particularly through the ma-nipulation of water in the site a system of follies which is scattered through the park hosting var-ious functions and events. There is also obvious an effort to explore the idea of architecture as platform for interaction between users, or be-tween users and space. Finally, water is consid-ered to be the key element in the erosion and

evolution of the site through time, and its ef-fects are highlighted by the design of the park.

30The cinema complex is penetrated by a main axis , part of the main walk of the park, that over the watercourse concludes on the plant.

Open air follies, paved paths and water creeks affect the erosion of land over time differently, leading to a new georgaphy.

31

The cinema complex is designed to restrain the rainwater, producing a wetland of various levels and vegetation.

Halls are scattered and integrated into the wetland, allowing users to experience natural elements.

33

Introduction

Eleonas is a former industrial district, now technically absent from the contemporary Athenian life, characterized by lage voids, aban-doned buildings and a scattered informal patch-work of nature. The proximity to the city center allows the project to seek for oportunities to re-introduce the area to the public realm.

The project involves dwelling, urban agriculture and a public park. The concept is to differenciate the type of housing by user: com-munity and close to nature houses are devel-oped as a fabric under the park, with agriculture areas acting as a barrier to the sourroundings, whereas urban living is concentrated in floating blocks that provide constant contact with the city (easy access and view). The park is on street level, accessible for all.

[04]

“Eleonas Green Platform”collective housing and urban farming

project for Design Studio No7, 2011published in A2610 Workbook of the year and the official wedsite of the school


Basic intension of the project is to in-vestigate possible advantages from the intersec-tion of urban and rural life. We locate 4 types of users: farmer, dweller/farmer, dweller and visitor. The street level invades the site to form a platform of inter-action between these categories.

Dwelling is divided into two types: rural and urban. In every type, unit and block, strategies of space and level manipulation pro-vide a wide variety of states between the private and the public (tools: atriums, green spaces, floor level, blinds of various opacities ect)

Dwelling

Dwellings that are closer to natural elements are located under the surface of the park, and are organised in 6 neighbourhoods, signified by thematic gardens. 4 archetype units form 8 composisions of various coverage, that become the complex unit, as a reference to the blocks of Athens. Private atriums differenciate living and sleeping spaces, where as public atri-ums act as community meeting points. A system of mobile shades is used as a filter towards these atriums, providing a buffer zone and tranform-ing the outlines of the houses.

Park

The park is organised around a main path that crosses 6 thematic gardens. By leaving the main path, the visitor is introduced into these gar-dens, that are of smaller scale and larger shape and space variaty. Larger plateux are also pres-ent in the project: 2 accessible green roofs work as places for concieving the total area, 2 public squares.

34General masterplan

35Masterplan -2.00m

atrium

dwelling

visitor level

resident level

program

residentsmin. vegetation

0

0

market place

0

118

240

78

90

300

90

95

300

110

100

310

85

110

250

72

0

0comunity gathering,

gardens

0

136

194

2 apartments 2 apartments 3 apartments4 apartments3 apartments3 apartments

58

6 10128860

1 3 7654 82

atrium

dwelling

visitor level

resident level

program

residentsmin. vegetation

0

0

market place

0

118

240

78

90

300

90

95

300

110

100

310

85

110

250

72

0

0comunity gathering,

gardens

0

136

194

2 apartments 2 apartments 3 apartments4 apartments3 apartments3 apartments

58

6 10128860

1 3 7654 82

36

One of the 6 unit/compositions of variable densities Bedroom extending to small atrium. Atriums are used to separate private from common rooms in the house.

agriculture agriculture circulation

circulation

house

farmer/dweller

commerce

apartment

dweller

- easy and autonomous access

from/to the city

- individual city view

- individual open air space


- direct contact with agriculture

- proximity to marketplace


- storage space

- proximity to marketplace


- view of agriculture

- various speeds of crossing

circulation

park/commerce

visitor

atrium

atrium

house

house

agriculture

farmer

Wooden elements work as filters between spaces. Different programs are separated from each other in various ways,

depending on the desirable amount of interaction.

37

Urban agriculture surrounds the complex, enhancing the rural quality of the experience.

39

The park is developed above the community housing complex and is open to visitors. The units above the park offer an urban quality of livinig .

Upper levelSection b Lower level

41

The project proposes a new way of or-ganising collective housing in the central area of the small city of Patras: public spaces and com-mercial programs invade the building which in this way becomes active accessible part of the urban fabric. The block contains apartments of various sizes, a laundry-mat and a restaurant.

[05]

“Green-Veil”Housing Block

project for Design Studio No4published in A2610 Workbook of the year

tutor: Yannis Aesopos

The commercial programs are located on ground level, connected directly to the street and the public balconies/gardens. The shape of the site is extruded in a large system of hydroponic agriculture. This sys-tem wraps both the apartments and the public spaces of the building, and becomes a green veil towards the city, revealing a new way to experi-

ence and live in a small scale urban environment deprived of natural elements. The hydroponic system works by using a persentage of gray wa-ter of the complex, and therefore vegetation is organised accordingly (sections of purification and filtering) The metallic 3d grid is filled with the boxes/apartments, allowing sunlight to run

through the complex, and a central core of ver-tical movement is connected to all of the boxes as well as with every point of the “screen” with a perimeter outdoor corridor. Further future sup-plementation of the system is possible.

42Selected level plans

existing layer

scaffold/3d grid

dwelling

circulation

hydroponic green veil

44

Bookstore (front) and house with office room (back)

45

General

The project explores the potential of a small sustainable complex in a typical Greek province city. It involves the design of a house, an office, a retail bookstore and a meeting room (available to both the office and the bookstore users at times).

[06]

Small House with Bookstore

Project for Sustailable Design Studio I, 2012with: Giorgos Kourakos

tutor: I. Alexandri

It is located in the center of Patras surrounded by typical medium-sized poly-programmatic buildings. The project achieves the required sus-tainability levels by a series of strategies: urban agriculture faces south, a green barrier on the north acts as a windshield, the complex is locat-ed on the center and its openings are oriented

towards the south but covered with blinds, and is divided into two masses in order to maximize sunlight and preserve a micro-climate manage-ment strip between them. The north zone of the complex accommodates vertical movement and offers thermal protection during winter time and ventilation during the hot summer. The roof has an inclination of 30, and acts as a rain collec-

tor as well as energy provider using solar panels. Great emphasis is placed on the economical use of space and resources for the construction.

4609.00

09.00

09.00

12.00

12.00

12.00

15.00

15.00

15.00

18.00

18.00

ground floor upper floor

June

21M

arch

/Sep

t 21

Dec

21

47

deciduous trees on the south to filter summer sun

Main Strategies

use of air streams

use of air streams

natural ventilation

natural ventilation

thermal zones

watercollection

solarenergy

microclimate

adaptable wooden blindsinclined roof - rain water collectormicro-climate managmentwater storageinclined roof - rain water collector and solar panels

high openings to the north for coolingnorth wing protection - circulationnatural ventilationevergreen wind blocker

sunlight diffusion indoors

1

1234

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

2 2

3

4

5

5

6

7

8

11

9

10

48

ATHENS DO-IT-

TOGETHER Strategic masterplan development and urban acupuncture for the revitalization

of Athens city center.

49

The project is a strategic masterplan of ephemeral interventions towards urban revitali-zation, developed in key points of the historical and commercial center of Athens within a peri-od of 6 months. It falls under the Development Program of the City of Athens “Project Athe-na“, a network of direct and brief interventions in the economy and public space of the city. Aim of the project is to use global relevant experience and case studies, as well as investigate new ways, to reactivate underutilized urban space and contribute to a commercial and cultural boost in an environment of generalized crisis and pessimism.

Introduction Context “Athens do-it-together”

[07]

“Athens Do-It-Together”strategic masterplan for the City of Athens

Professional Project, 2013

project architect: Charris Biskosclient: City of Athens

The desolation and dereliction of de-signed urban space combined with the re-loca-tion of commercial use in suburban bubbles, left the city center empty and neglected. Athenian society, already going through an identity crisis, was caught up with an unresolved urban prob-lem, that calls for action. Despite the general-ized degradation of the center, new economic and social conditions led to the emergence of newly formed collectives, bringing the ideas of the “collective” and “local” in the public dialog. Fragmented urban space is now -more than ever- subject of claim and reference point, in an effort to recharge it with meaning. As such, it acts as a common ground between artis-tic,social and political groups.

In this context, through key point interventions for the revitalization of public space, and based on an expanding masterplan scheduled to grow for 6 months, our proposal focuses on the area known as “commercial tri-angle“, the heart of the city center. At the same time, it forms a platform of cooperation and interaction between groups, broadening the vi-sion we have for the mediate future of Athens. A toolbox is formed based on various case studies and new ideas, analyzed by size, cost, construction time, visibility, green space and other variables. After careful research and analysis on different sites, points of intervention are selected and matched with the optimum, most suitable type from the toolbox.

Interventions are focused on selected key points of the city, that have fallen in a state of inertia, vacant from public or commercial use, that present a potential of high urban influ-ence. Vacant shops and windows can host small periodical exhibitions, empty or unfinished buildings can act as large scale canvases, arcades no longer live can receive multiple programs and act as incubators for collective activities, and large public spaces can be turned into tem-porary landmarks.

50

BUILT SPACE

+ CRISIS = VACANCY

PUBLIC SPACE

+ CRISIS = EMPTYNESS

Phase 1:

Experimental, ephemeral and highly visible interven-

tions along the main axis of the busy Stadiou street.

Branding the project.

Phase 2:

Enrichment of the pro-jects along Stadiou. First

reference point in the area known as the “commer-cial triangle” of Athens.

Base point of the project: incubator and workshop

spaces. Open call for proposals by artists and

link with think tanks and platforms as “Re-Activate

Athens“.

Phase 3:

The network expands and adapts: from road axis, to central focal points and

finally to anchor points in neighborhoods. Different interventions are used in each step, engaging the

public in various ways and scales.

51

urban playgrounds

gra�ti

lighting/ installation

ephemeral gardens

yarn bombing

large scaleinstallations

vacantshops

vacant window exhibitions

facades

30-60’

30-60’

10-30’

1-5’

1-5’

1-10‘

neighborhood

neighborhood

neighborhood

neighborhood

street

street

street

city

city

visittime

areaa�ected

project properties

projectsize

projectlocation

30-60’

1-10‘

1-5’

L

M

S

central

remote

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10

δικτύωση/ κοινότητα

προσβασιµότητα πράσινο δηµόσιος χώροςψυχαγωγία/απόλαυση

πληροφορία

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10




1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10




1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10




1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10




1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10




1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10




1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10




1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10




53

Greece’s 10th participation in the In-ternational Architecture Exhibition - La Bien-nale di Venezia is directed and curated by the National Commissioner architect and professor Yannis Aesopos, under the title “Tourism Land-scapes: Remaking Greece”.

[08]

“Tourism Landscapes”Remaking Greece

Greek Participation in the 14th International Architecture Exhibition, 2014, La Biennale di Venezia: “Fundamentals - Absorbing Modernity, 1914-2014”

Professional Project, 2014

Commissioner - Curator: Yannis AesoposAssistants: Maria Chassioti, Ioanna Koulouri, Georgios Kourakos, Mina Roussou, Thodoris Svoronos

“It explores the role of tourism as a vehicle of modernization of Greece through the emergence of constructed tourism landscapes: hotels and resorts, organized beaches, archae-ological sites and museums, public space de-signs and infrastructure facilities. Moreover, it focuses on the concurrent (re)shaping of Greek national identity that is enhanced through the contact of the “other”, the foreign, new and global element, which the activity of tourism presupposes.”

Greek history and the Greek land-scape jointly made up the myth of contempo-rary Greece. Historical and cultural continuity through the unaltered landscape defined the identity of the modern Greek state. These same elements –history and landscape– provided the foundation for Greece’s entry to a new sector of economic activity that intensified rapidly dur-ing the country’s post-War modernization peri-od: tourism, a global industry in which Greece was to play an important role at a global scale. Tourism is by definition an extrovert activity

that presupposes regular contact with the “oth-er”, being in touch with the new and adapting to it as well as a continuous (re)configuration of identity. In architectural terms, a constant remaking of the built landscape. The exhibition examines and presents –through examples of both built and unrealized projects as well as through new designs devel-oped for the exhibition by Greek and foreign architects– architectures of tourism as tools for the modernization of the country and the shap-ing of its identity.

54Opening day

Exhibition on progress

55

Exhibition Description

The exhibition is organized in 2 parts:The first section is an in-depth research on ar-chitecture of tourism in Greece the last 100 years. It is presented in the form of a timeline that is lined with landscape photographs and cultural identity hints, in order to create a main narration in comprehensible context. The second part is a collection of New Projects by respected architecture offices, that having taken into consideration the for-mer research, investigate the possibilities of the post-crisis, contemporary touristic product and the architectural language it incorporates. The goal is to outline possible interesting future di-rections and result in new forms of both tour-ism and tourism architecture.

New Projects

The New Projects part is placed in the center of the Pavilion and presents through models on identical stands of various heights that create an interior geometric ‘island land-scape’ the proposals of 15 Greek and foreign architects for a tourism inhabitation in a Greek sea-side landscape. These projects were pro-duced specifically for the Biennale exhibition. The time frame is the end-of-crisis era that is characterized by limited resources, asks for the reassessment of priorities and the reestablish-ment of values, the reconsideration of human imposition on nature, and, through spiritual restructuring, the reappraisal of less. The coex-istence of Greek and foreign architects refers to the interaction between local and foreign that tourism presupposes.

Landscape/Identity

Forming a collage of natural lanscapes that surrounds the exhibition, lagre scale pho-tograps are placed on the lower part of the walls’ surfaces. They are topped with the former archi-tecture timeline, providing the ground for the survay and the visitor’s mental journey through the building of Greece to continue. Scattered through the timeline pro-jects, photos of ‘identity elements’ introduce the anthropological dimension, the common references of the society behind the architectur-al product.

Archive

The Archival part presents the archi-tectural production of tourism landscapes in Greece in the last 100 years. It is organised as a continuous sur-face of images placed on the surrounding walls of the Pavilion’s interior, as a linear narrative timeline, indicating the ever changing character of the touristic product (a shift from sanative tourism on the turn of last century, to luxurious, then modern, traditional, generalized, up to the minimal aesthetics of today) as well as the archi-tectural form that results from its expression. Influencial projects of each era are analized and presented in a sequence suggesting a continuous process of evolution.

Theo Svoronos - folio of works 2010-2015

Documents

Transcript of Theo Svoronos - folio of works 2010-2015