I highly recommend a visit to the official site for the Greek pavillon at the 12th International Architecture Exhibition (Bienalle di Venezia).
The theme of the Greek pavillon is the “Ark. Old seeds for new cultures”.
“The oldest meaning of the ancient greek word for the activity of building, ktisis, is “weeding, preparation of the soil for sowing, planting“, while the meanings of ‘foundation’ and ‘construction’ are subsequent. Sowing and Construction introduce at the outset a dual function for architecture as the activity of organizing both buildings in space and, also, of open, natural spaces. By means of the present project, we seek to reintroduce into contemporary architectural practices the spaces of culture in its double meaning, of agriculture and of civilization. “People meet within culture”.
The economic crisis under way in Greece and in Europe is simultaneously a crisis of production and of employment and, overall, a crisis of human performativity within metropolitan and, indeed, any man-made environments. Beyond the bounds of the metropolis, the agricultural sector is also undergoing a crisis after the collapse of mechanized monocultures and of the European subsidies. The crisis in agriculture affects the availability and quality of nutrition. At the same time, the harsh conditions of the economic crisis in the cities turn all heads to the countryside and to the land available, which thus assumes the value of vital resource with the potential of providing employment, quality of living, alternative structuring of production and of motivating networking, the forming of communities and the development of communal living practices.
The responsibility of architecture goes beyond the bounds of the constructed edifice. It is being defined anew as a set of practices for the planning and management of land spaces.”
Find out more about the project here.
Commissioners- Curators: Phoebe Giannisi, Zissis Kotionis.
Ark Design: Zissis Kotionis, Phoebe Giannisi
Ark Construction: Gavrilos Michalis
Collection of Biogenetic plant material: Orestis Davias, biologist
Layout of Exhibition of Agricultural Landscape: Kostas Manolidis, architect
Video & sound installation: Yannis Isidorou, visual artist
Information layout: Alexandros Psychoulis, visual artist
Installation Consultant: Maria Papadimitriou, visual artist, responsible for the actions/workshops in the city, and the performance of catering and cultivation action.
Great economic hardship can encourage innovation and entrepreneurship, and yes, I am also curious to see how thing will change in response to this crisis that is not just restricted to Greece.
Hardships can be crippling but challenges also spark innovation and initiative so I am curious to see how things will change in response to this crisis; hopefully for the better!
… and they can grow food no matter where they live. Besides, we need livable and sustainable places to call home. And urban gardening is sustainable for all aspects of our environment.
Intriguing post. There is so much going on now with urban gardening et al. At least people are thinking about efficient, practical land and building use.