(IN)TANGIBLE HERITAGE(S)
Abstract
This paper discusses the role and agency of the architecture exhibition (physical and virtual) as a mediated space of discursive spatial narratives. It focuses on an architecture exhibition entitled Past-forward: Stavros Economou Unarchived, which was co-curated by the authors in 2021. Stavros Economou (1917-2004) is one of the most important representatives of modern architecture in Cyprus, yet his work is underdiscussed and underpublished. His architecture contributed to the shaping of the Cypriot urban landscape and to the spatial and social transformations during the first post-colonial decades. Central to the curatorial project was the architect’s archive and its multimedia reconstruction. Archives as collections are bound to decision processes of inclusion and exclusion from those in authority, as well as to issues of accessibility. The architectural archive, unlike other collections, consists of representations (such as drawings, models, photographs, reports) of artefacts (buildings) that communicate design processes and final un/built proposals. How does the partial nature of architectural representation impact our understanding of a building and its history? What are the creative documentational tools that allow us to reconstruct their past lives in the present and speculate their futures? In addition to the archival material, the multimedia reconstruction of Economou’s architecture included films, interviews, photographs, and an immersive installation that explored interactive visualization and storytelling to promote the cultural value of ‘difficult heritage’ of the still divided island of Cyprus based on archival material and field research. Digital technologies can act as catalyst for engaging people with their urban environment and cultures. The exhibition presented went beyond the 3D documentation of architectural heritage and relied on interactive visualization methods for the gallery visitors’ engagement and eventually for raising awareness about architecture as cultural heritage. This paper presents the curatorial positioning, the participatory methods and documentational creative tools employed for setting the architect’s archive in motion and making it accessible to the public.
Popi Iacovou, Lecturer at the University of Cyprus, is an architect and academic investigating transdisciplinary models of thinking and practicing architecture. She received a PhD by Architectural Design from the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL and an MPhil on ‘Architecture and the Moving Image’ from the University of Cambridge. Previously, she has taught at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and the University of Cambridge.
Her research explores the intersections between architecture, performance and the moving image. Her methodology is based on situated filmic practice as design research method that investigates socio-political phenomena across different scales. She has published internationally and her films and architectural design work has been shown in various film festivals and architectural exhibitions, such as the Melbourne Design Week 2022, Copenhagen Architecture Festival (2019), the 16th Venice Architecture Biennale (2018), the 7th Biennale of Young Greek Architects (2012-2013), Hong Kong and Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism (2009), the Unbuilt (Byzantine Museum of Athens), the International Thessaloniki Film Festival and others. She has curated a number of architecture exhibitions for the London Festival of Architecture (2012), The Gopher Hole (London) and the State Gallery of Contemporary Art – SPEL, Nicosia, Cyprus (2021).
Assist. Professor Georgios Artopoulos works on immersive and virtual environments, urban modeling and digital simulation for the study of built heritage and the creative exploration of historical narratives. Together with the team of Virtual Environments Lab, at the CyI, Georgios is developing ICT-enabled user-driven tools for social resilience and inclusion, with an application in historical context. The social aspects of historic space and the cross-disciplinary nature of the pressing challenges facing our cities are explored through the externally funded projects he is contributing to or coordinating (under H2020, ENI-CBC-MED, and Cyprus Research and Innovation Foundation frameworks), his role as a co-Head of Virtual Competency Centre e-Infrastructure of the DARIAH ERIC, and as a Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of JPI Urban Europe, where he works on matters of sustainable and liveable cities and urban areas. His work was presented in the International Exhibition Computational Turn in Architecture, MAV, Marseille; Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism 2017; Hong Kong and Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism; 63rd Venice Film Festival, La Biennale di Venezia; Royal Institute of British Architects, London; London Design Festival; Festival of Architecture 2018, Israel.
9:00 am - 10:30 am
Thursday 16th June, 2022