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Aggregate! is an entry for the D. Areopagiti competition that was asking for a design to negotiate the back facades of the buildings between Tsumi’s New Acropolis Museum and the Acropolis itself. The competition was a result of a larger discussion in relation to the new museum and its relation to the existing urban tissue in general and to the two buildings that stand between the museum and the Acropolis in particular. Tsumi himself proposed the demolition of the two buildings while local architects were defending the ‘existence’ of the two buildings in the context of the preservation of architectural heritage of Athens (represented by the buildings). Aggregate! instead of making another architectural statement that would favor one option or the other, leaves the decision to the visitors of the museum themselves: The visitors are called to vote upon their entry to the museum, having the options to vote for the demolition of the buildings, to vote for their preservation or to remain neutral. The voting process is ‘represented’ in space on a wall that gets build on the back of the existing buildings. The three different voting options result in three different kinds of bricks on the wall. For every 100 votes that are ‘in favor’ of the buildings a brick that contains an algae capsule is placed on the wall. For every 100 votes that ask for the demolition of the buildings the brick placed on the wall has on its one side attached a screen that displays the view on the other side of the buildings, that is the view that one would have if the buildings were demolished. Finally for every 100 neutral votes an ‘empty’ brick is placed on the wall. The whole process is totally automated: a robotic arm is ‘collecting’ the votes and each time places the appropriate brick.
As a result, the final form of the wall depends on the reactions of the visitors, which become an active part of a process that remains alive for a long period and renders aggregation as the driving force behind the installation.
| >>info: | |
| design: | Theodora Christoforidou, Dimitris Gourdoukis, Vasilis Ntovros, Katerina Tryfonidou, Fotis Vasilakis |
| date: | 2008 |
| awards: | — D.Areopagiti Competition: Special Mention. |
| publications: | — in 6th Biennale of Young Greek Architects Exhibition Catalog, Athens: ΕΙΑ, 2010. — Athens Voice, issue 315, Athens: 14.09.2010. — in Reformation of the D. Areopagitou Facades Athens: Greek Architects, 2008. |
| exhibitions: | — “6th Biennale of Young Greek Architects” Benaki Museum, Athens, Sep – Nov 2010. — “Reformation of the D. Areopagitou Facades” Zappeio Megaro, Athens, June 2009. — “Reformation of the D. Areopagitou Facades” Velideio Conventional Center, Thessaloniki, September – October 2008 |