HEPHAESTUS LANDSCAPE, REDIFINING AND REACTIVATING THE MINES OF THERA

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1 HEPHAESTUS LANDSCAPE, REDIFINING AND REACTIVATING THE MINES OF THERA Evangelia Argyrou 1 University of Patras, Department of Architecture, Patras, Greece evangeliarg@gmail.com Abstract While pursuing the optimum comprehension of the contemporary needs in tourism, the project aims to initiate alternative versions of experiencing the specific landscape. The final intervention concerns a series of programs that attempt to highlight the memory of the mines and the remarkable geological and visual interest of the site, along with the formation of a ground based multi-scale/multi-type/multiperiod activity receptor. Being introduced to such a succession of facts and incidents, the visitor/contemplator is invited to experience the landscape of Santorini in a different manner, through symbols and myths as the extracts of an objective interpretation. The vacuum is being reshaped into an evolving, flexible and multifunctional space for both residents and visitors, becoming part of everyday life, willing to absorb all the contemporary mutational tendencies. One new landscape. Description The particular geomorphological composition of Santorini is one of the most significant reasons why the inhabitation of therian landscape has altered through time. In contrast to the past, when agriculture and mining were the primary occupational practices, nowadays the massive expansion of international tourism has transformed the social structure, leading to. This project attempts to reclaim several elements missing from the current perception of the therian landscape, namely the mines of Hephaestus, located on the southern edge of Fira, on an upland whose morphology is a result of extensive pumice and pozzolan (volcanic ash) extractions. Analyzing the site s features one could summarize them in four elements: the natural boundary of a wall, almost 50 meters tall on the east, three mounds, a buffer plane connecting the mounds and finally the plateau, a vast -relatively flat- area that surrounds them. The differentiation of the three mounds from their surroundings becomes the main concept of the proposal. Beyond the obvious level difference, the mounds consist of different geological composition from the rest plateau that was material for extraction. More precisely they are part of the lower strata in a way that even after their excavation they remained stable while the rest, the plateau, was constantly changing. According the intervention, these mounds accommodate different programs which exalt different aspects of the place s identity. The new IMIC2015: 1 st International Conference on Experiential Tourism Santorini, Greece 09-11/10/2015 1

2 constructs attempt to integrate with the topography in a harmonious yet distinct way. Each of them reinterprets a specific aspect and as such could be seen as independent but also as a part of a sequel that a visitor could follow. Specifically, on the first mound a series of constructs create an open-air promenade. Starting from the pedestrians entrance, almost coinciding with the current site s entrance, the visitor reaches an open-air ring road where, below ground, are organized several public programs. This is followed by a promenade through the exhibition spaces, organized inside the vertical wall. Reaching the old factory s site and the observation point, the visitor moves through a circular ascending promenade inside the Hephaestus building achieving in the end a complete vision of the site. Finally, a cable car following the former ditch leads to the ships dock where one finds the reception and several water facilities. Taking into consideration the rich geology of Santorini and the fact that this site reveals the close relationship between people and earth, the second mound attempts to relink the island with this latent potential. To this purpose what is proposed is a research facility and a brief promenade, simulating the descend to the deep earth, otherwise a path through time. The higher level of the second mound accommodates the cars entrance. From there the visitor reaches the research facilities while following a ramp ends up to a hole excavated in the ground. This peculiar space stands as a vivid tomography of the place s geological richness or as a state-of-the-art exhibition coupled by other events such as video projections which allow for the visitor to fully grasp the unique experience of the therian landscape. The third mound, acting as an in-between or unifying element, contributes to the formation of a complete promenade. The visitor s circulation through the site is dominated by a convention: from the one side the wall stands as a visual barrier or a means of isolation while on the other side the site opens up to the horizon s view. Building upon this convention what is introduced is a prismatic volume that offers a single entrance in its center and two framed views of the two oppositional situations. The plateau, surrounding the mounds, given the fact that during the past was constantly changing, becomes a field of activities. This field refers to an infrastructure that could activate the site accomodating programs of different scale, kind and duration. The infrastructure consists of 3000 holes-spots that could be filled by various elements of them are already filled with columns that could circulate or literally change spot according to the programs hosted. These metal columns vary in height according their relationship with the topography. The columns are accompanied by a kit of parts that allow for maximum flexibility and combinations. The elements shaping the site s identity are interpreted and adjusted to the contemporary case. Each of them aims to motivate the visitor to create his/her own meaning, so a different, highly personal reading and interpretation of the therian landscape. What is proposed is a flexible site for both the residents and the visitors that becomes part of the island s rites, that changes and evolves by the stakeholders needs, in other words a new landscape. IMIC2015: 1 st International Conference on Experiential Tourism Santorini, Greece 09-11/10/2015 2

3 References 1. D, Abulafia, Τhe Mediterranean in History, London: Thames & Hunson Ltd. 2. G. Bachelard, The Poetics of Space, Beacon Press (MA), F. Braudel, The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II, Volume I, University of California Press, M. Carmona, S. Tiesdell, T. Heath, Taner Oc, Public Places Urban Spaces, second edition, Elsevier Ltd., London, P. N. Doukellis, L. G. Mendoni, Perception and evaluation of cultural landscapes, Athens, R. Fletcher, Archaeology, Annales, and Ethnohistory, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, R. T. Forman, Land mosaics: the ecology of landscapes and regions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, K. Frampton, Modern Architecture-A critical history, Thames and Hudson Ltd, London, C. M. Hall, A. M. Williams, Tourism and Innovation, Routledge, N. McGilchrist, McGilchrist s Greek islands 1.SANTORINI &THERASIA WITH ANAPHI, London: Genius loci publications 11. G. Meis, THERA or SANTORINI Born From Tephra, Meis studio edition, Athens, C. Norberg-Schultz, Genius Loci: Towards a Phenomenology of Architecture, Rizzoli, I. S. Morales Terrain vague. In any place, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, E. Relph, Place and Placelessness, London: Pion Limited, G. Simmel, J. Ritter, E. H. Gombrich, The landscape, edited by D. Kavvathas, translated by G. Sagkriotis, E. Anagnostou, N. Daskalothanasis, Potamos editions, Athens, 2004 IMIC2015: 1 st International Conference on Experiential Tourism Santorini, Greece 09-11/10/2015 3

4 Figures: Graphs and pictures Figure 1: Site s analysis. IMIC2015: 1 st International Conference on Experiential Tourism Santorini, Greece 09-11/10/2015 4

5 Figure 2: Site s masterplan. IMIC2015: 1 st International Conference on Experiential Tourism Santorini, Greece 09-11/10/2015 5

6 Figure 3: The second mound. IMIC2015: 1 st International Conference on Experiential Tourism Santorini, Greece 09-11/10/2015 6

7 Figure 4: The second mound. IMIC2015: 1 st International Conference on Experiential Tourism Santorini, Greece 09-11/10/2015 7

8 Figure 5: The plateau. IMIC2015: 1 st International Conference on Experiential Tourism Santorini, Greece 09-11/10/2015 8

9 Figure 6: The promenade in the hole. Figure 7: Inside Hephaestus building. IMIC2015: 1 st International Conference on Experiential Tourism Santorini, Greece 09-11/10/2015 9

10 Figure 8: The pier. IMIC2015: 1 st International Conference on Experiential Tourism Santorini, Greece 09-11/10/

(RE)CONSTRUCTION OF TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURE IN SANTORINI ISLAND, GREECE

(RE)CONSTRUCTION OF TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURE IN SANTORINI ISLAND, GREECE Santorini is the southern island of the Cyclades, with a surface of 75 sq. km and is part of a volcanic basin composed by three