Every architectural work is defined by the ideas that construct it. It is therefore crucial, to understand the social, political and cultural background of buildings at the time they were conceived and built. Architecture however is not just defined by the period when a building is conceived, drawn and built, as architecture is also about the user; spaces really get their meanings through the actions that take place in them. Consequently, events are very significant in architecture. The unpredictable, the unexpected, the spectacular; they all carry with them meanings that redefine the architectural space.
I strongly support the argument that architects should be familiar with the social and political background in which they are designing. In the shadow of the current events in Europe and the wave of insurgency going on during the last eight years or so, this essay aims to understand the current political background and define the role of architecture in relationship with other arts and disciplines in responding to it.
Set in the heart of Athens, the essay will attempt to decipher a certain aspect of the neoliberal city and discuss on possible potential architectural works that could start to address and respond to it. As Bernard Tschumi has stated in his essay ‘Violence of Architecture’: “There is no architecture without action, no architecture without events, no architecture without program. By extension, there is no architecture without violence.” I am fascinated by the possibilities of conflicts and the violence of their interactions. The neoliberal city is a mosaic of conflicts. In its purpose to serve a capitalist and consumerist society, it creates a fragmented urban space. Athens is a great example of a highly fragmented city. Within a radius of one kilometre, one can perceive very contrasting neighbourhoods (ghettos) in the centre of the city. Two very specific neighbourhoods that best reflect the structure of the Greek society and have a lot of potential if they start interacting, are the areas of Exarcheia and Kolonaki. Separated just by 0.5km, the two central squares of the areas offer a completely different image of the city. Exarcheia is the heart of the student activity and it is very much associated with occupations and cultural events, but also with anarchism and crime, whereas Kolonaki is the most gentrified area in the city centre, characterised by high rents, fine dining restaurants, and classy cafes and boutiques.
The aim is to define the barrier that separates these areas and the conflicts created. The question that would drive my research is ‘how can architecture in relation with other arts and disciplines respond to this barrier?’ I am quite interested in applying the ideas of the situationists, pushing forward the argument that architecture as an art can expose and represent different issues, but cannot really solve them. Through this exposure it awakens people and pushes them to demand for change. In other terms, people and their actions (events) make the changes; architecture is there as a mean to accomplish that. This sort of definition of architecture is what brings into the foreground other arts like street art, installations, film and set design, while taking into account people’s requirements, something that has been a tradition in the development of Athens since its birth.
architectural dissertation development_roubini hadjicosti 