PORTFOLIO + TEXTS
ALEXANDROS KAPSIMALIS ARCHITECT-ENGINEER(NTUA)
ALEXANDROS KAPSIMALIS___ARCHITECT-ENGINEER___NATIONAL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY ATHENS
an island -THE 4 FACES OF SANTORINI -MUSEUM OF THE VOLCANOES IN SANTORINI -DREAM HOUSE -HOUSE IN A VILLAGE -HOUSE ON A MOUNTAIN -HOUSE K. -3 SMALL HOUSES NEAR THE BEACH -EXTRAS//
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3 competitions -INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE VOLCANOES (IMOV) -ATHENSx4 -NEW SCHOOL CAFE’ AND PROPOSAL OF SHELTERING AN OUTDOOR THEATER
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a painting -AFTER PARTY
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an island ‘‘..mass versus void..’’
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THESIS PROJECT 2008
THE 4 FACES OF SANTORINI
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he island of Santorini at the southern Cyclades, known for its volcanic landscape and its traditional architecture, has been a place of increasing tourist interest in the recent decades. The presence of the volcanoes in the broad Santorini complex has added a primitive roughness and a dramatization to the landscape’s surface, which is hightened by the dynamics of the landscape’s form and by the alternation of textures and colors of the various volcanic layers. The intense volcanic landscape of Santorini has greatly influenced the inhabitants’ way of living, surviving and coexisting. The life of the inhabitants of the island until the recent decades has paralleled the activity of the volcano and to its effects on the landscape. The landscape and the area of Santorini are definitely correlated.
Views of the volcano and the island’s landscape
ARCH NTUA 2008 SUPERVISOR: PROF. Y.KIZIS
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This page: a church in the traditional village of Pyrgos (left) and two houses in the traditional village of Oia (up)
Next page: a sketch for a house in the ground
The anonymous pre-industrial architecture developed by the people’s thrifty needs, is identified in collective architectural ensembles. Simultaneously the familiarization with the climate, the landscape and its materials, led to the formation of an architecture which fits in its environment as a whole and also in individual units. The architectural forms we see today ‘’perched’’ on the rocky cliffs of the volcanic caldera stem from the nature’s and society’s lessons. During his trip in Greece Le Corbusier discovers the purity and the plasticity of the traditional island architecture. After the devastating earthquake of 1956 in Santorini, the well-known greek architect K. Dekavallas alone with his team, under the government program of post-earthquake housing and public space reconstruction of the island, combines his modernistic ideas with tradition.
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The expeditious transition from the devastating earthquake of 1956 to the incoming wealth of tourist industry in our days, has resulted in monstrous social strides which in a very short period of time shattered the spatial and social cohesion of the place. The inability to understand the principles that led to the production of the traditional architecture, has had disastrous consequences for its preservation and its promotion. The contemporary architecture is entirely lacking, the traditional architecture is gradually altering, the geometry of the landscape is being degraded, and the natural environment is disappearing. The thesis aims to analyze, understand and present the main grounds which create the natural and built space of the island, through historical continuity and sociopolitical interaction. Which are the dynamics that have determined the shape of the landscape? Which are the factors that have contributed to the formation of the traditional architecture? What lies behind the post-earthquake housing and public space reconstruction? Which are the dominant forces that define the tremendous development of the recent decades?
Which are the four faces of Santorini?
View of nowadays residential diffusion of the island
CONTENTS
3. POST-EARTHQUAKE RECONSTRUCTION
0. INTRODUCTION
PROGRAMME PHASE 1 PHASE 2 TRADITION-MODERNISM-GREECE OBJECTIVES PROCEDURE-PROBLEMS HOUSES URBANISM PUBLIC BUILDINGS QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT VALUATION OF POST-EARTHQUAKE RECONSTRUCTION
1. PLACE/LANDSCAPE LANDSCAPE 1 LANDSCAPE 2 PLASTICITY MATERIALITY COLOUR NATURE HANDLING
2. TRADITION 1204 SOCIETY-ECONOMY BUILT SPACE-THE CASTLES CASTLES OF SANTORINI CASTLES OF CYCLADES 1774 SOCIETY-ECONOMY BUILT SPACE-THE VILLAGES VILLAGES VALUATION OFTRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURE
4. TOURISM TRANSITION MODERN CHARACTER POLITICAL FACTORS ECONOMICAL FACTORS SOCIAL FACTORS VALUATION OF MODERN SANTORINI LANDSCAPE-NATURE URBANISM TRADITION CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE
CONCLUSION BIBLIOGRAPHY
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DIPLOMA PROJECT 2009
MUSEUM OF THE VOLCANOES IN SANTORINI
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‘‘show of the importance of the volcanic landscape through a downhill-path where the spaces of the museum are articulated’’
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he project deals with a site located on the island of Santorini, particularly in the village of Fira, the capital of the island. The site is a former mining area where pumice was extracted. The area has a direct visual contact with the volcano and the volcanic caldera and is also the western boundary of the southern entrance of the village. Within the mining area exists an industrial building where the produced pumice was processed.
ARCH NTUA 2009 SUPERVISOR: PROF. T.PAPAIOANNOU PUBLICATION IN ARCHITECTURE IN GREECE (MAGAZINE) 44/2010 PUBLICATION IN GREEK ARCHITECTS (WEBSITE) PARTICIPATION IN TICCIH CONFERENCE-VOLOS
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outdoor and indoor views of the existing industrial building in the site
A path within the former quarry area is suggested, where the visitor wandering in outdoor, indoor and underground areas, experiences the landscape and the space as an open, ‘’living’’ museum of geological history. The existing industrial shell is analyzed and proposed to be restored, being the main part of the track.
Specifically, a basic path is created that connects the level of the village’s entrance with the lower level of the existing industrial building running the mining area. This path consists of the following parts: The ‘’plateau’’ is at the highest level of the path and is laid at the same level with the road and the pedestrian walkway coming from Fira. This area is the starting point of the path where the visitors are informed about the geological park and the museum.
model of the concrete frame of the building
The ‘’wall’’ is the artificial continuity of the park’s natural carved wall which defines the road’s boundary. Behind the wall the visitor moves descentionally through a longitudinal vertical ramp or a staircaselift. The walker is gradually immersed in the artificial rock, to reach an underground space laid 25 meters lower from the plateau’s level. The ‘’axis’’ is the straight line joining the underground area with the museum building. It intersects the existing building verticaly, passing through it and continuing to the cliffs of the caldera where the visitor can have an overall view of the volcano and the sea.
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Both pages: sketches , diagrames and models of the design process
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Longitudinal section of the path. ‘‘The visitor is moving directly from underground spaces to the volcanic cliffs and the overall view of the landscape, from closeness to freedom, from shadow to light.’’
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cafeteria
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ĎƒĎ„stairs-lift
permanent excibition temporary excibition shop information
storage-wc
Inside the museum there is a permanent exhibition hall, a temporary exhibition hall, an information desk , a cafeteria, a shop, utility rooms, etc. In front of the building an open-air theater is recommended to be located along the sharp slopes of the ground.
The main concern of the project is the minimum interference with the volcanic landscape aiming at its preservation and its emergence. The special handling of the scale, size, space, form and materiality contributes towards it.
plans of 0, 2, 4 levels and section of the building
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DREAM HOUSE 19
PERSONAL PROJECT 2010 CALDERA, SANTORINI
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n experimental project for a house-cave on the volcanic cliffs of the caldera. A minimal approach to the relation of the artificial construction and the landscape. ΙThe underground space, the natural interior lighting, the framing of the view and the movement inside/outside the house is being studied in depth.
The view to the sea and to the volcano through the 25m long opening is contrasted to the way the natural light enters the house mystically through the ‘‘corroded’’ roof .
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views of the models and the interior space of the house
HOUSE IN A VILLAGE
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PERSONAL PROJECT 2010FIRA, SANTORINI
n the old village of Fira a small existing complex of 2 holiday houses is re-designed to make better use of the indoor and outdoor space. The inner courtyard of the house at the bottom level will be the ‘‘heart’’ between the sitting room and the underground bedrooms which will be lightened by it. Great emphasis is placed on the utilization of the walkable terraces and yards for sitting and sea-viewing.
perspective view of the inner courtyard , the ‘‘heart’’ of the house
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HOUSE ON A MOUNTAIN
PERSONAL PROJECT 2010PYRGOS, SANTORINI
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he house is located on a site with steep slope. It is investigated the engraving and the placement of the cubist volumes on the ground. The designed stone benches create levels but also volumes and spaces. The main volume is a fortified ‘‘castle’’ on the steep gradient reminiscing the medieval castles of the island.
views of the models and the interior space of the house
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HOUSE K. 25
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PERSONAL PROJECT 2006-2008 INTERIOR DESIGN MESSARIA, SANTORINI
he interior design of the house is inspired by the alternation of colors in natural light. The filtering of the morning light and the study of artificial lighting create a variety of emotions in the interior space.
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3 SMALL HOUSES NEAR THE BEACH 27
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he proposed placement of building volumes achieves the optimum sea view and the essential residents’ privacy.
WORK RELATED PROJECT 2009 PERISSA, SANTORINI
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EXTRAS// 29
WORK RELATED PROJECTS 2006-2010 SANTORINI
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he contact with the builders/masons and their crews and the use of local materials in construction are important factors in order to achieve the desired result of the design proposals in specific landscapes.
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projects in Oia, Pyrgos and Akrotiri
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2009
2008
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3 competitions
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INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE VOLCANOES (IMOV)
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olcano is an open passage from the Earth’s interior that allows the flow of rocks (lava) through the crater from the inside surface of Earth’s crust. Volcano means eruption. Lava flows into rivers breaching the ground or splashing through the crater in fragments falling to earth. Crater - Lava Rivers - Fragments are for us the key elements that define the image of the volcano. The aim of the proposal is to translate the volcano’s mechanism into shapes, space and materiality which will create a new museum of intense sensations felt by the visitor. The crater of the volcano is translated into a concrete circleexcibition space which defines an inner patio. The lava river is expressed as a simplified line-slot-entrance connecting the outside and the inside space of the new artificial crater. The fragments are interpreted as three blocks scattered in the area: the tower-shop-cafe, the underground theater and the offices. The shapes of the building clearly define the movement in space. The cycle causes a potentially recurring circular trajectory of excibition space and the line a strict linear movement from outside to inside. Someone can also move vertically downward submerged in the underground theater or upward through the tower to the sky and the panoramic view.
COMPETITION 2011 ARQUIDEAS & CSCAE LANZAROTE SPAIN COLLABORATOR: STOFOROS KOSTIS
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The image presented by the new building is intended to express an austere way of fitting an artificial construction on the vast volcanic landscape of Lanzarote where human scale doesn’t exist. It creates a symbol that semantically fits in the landscape but also signals the presence of a significant cultural site. The patio constitutes the museum’s heart, as the excibition halls lay around it with the underground theater and the tower placed inside it. The only entrance in the patio is through the line-slot. There is no other open at the outside of the ring. The patio defines a new world, the museum’s world.
perspective views of the museum building in the volcanic site and of its excibition hall’s interior space
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After a tour through the excibition spaces, after a lecture or a video-documentary at the theater, the visitor can move higher through the entire tower (shop-cafe etc) to the watchout, where he can have an overall view of the landscape; feeling the transition from earth to heaven, from closeness to freedom, from shadow to light.
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ATHENSx4
COMPETITION 2010 / COMMENDATION EAXA (UNIFICATION OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES OF ATHENS) & MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT COLLABORATORS: FANOU EVITA,STOFOROS KOSTIS, FYTOY MANTO, HONTOS CHRISTOS, STATHOPOULOU AFRODITI, GIAKOUMAKI ELENI
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‘‘the selection of 4 blocks in Athens to create a new largest one with the use of the inside cross as free space’’ PLACE The formation of the city of Athens has covered the natural habitat with density and conditions of habitation that make daily life in the city difficult. Hills, insufficient free space, organized or scattered archaeological findings, neoclassic and modern buildings, cars, narrow roads and the residents who are ‘’the vibrant patchwork of Athens’’. The Attic landscape is a field of two competitive elements, the artificial and the natural. The first is characterized by the structural ‘’carpet’’ of apartment blocks. The second severs the ‘’carpet’’ in the form of peaks (hills, mountains), or blank spaces (open spaces, excavations). TIME Athens is a city with historical depth. Its rich stratigraphy can be seen as a set of successive layers of urban development containing material inventory from previous time periods. We inhabit the top layer of the ‘‘sediment’’, which is the urban grid that has been formatted and developed since 1832.
We are interested through our research in its structure that can be seen through the development of its unit, the block. STRUCTURE
the selected area of our project
We recognize the apartment block as the structural unit of the block and thus of the built environment of Athens. This ‘’machine’’ of habitation designed through the system of compensation and through a simple construction technology, is transformed, repeated and gradually occupies the Attic land hosting a variety of urban uses. 4 = 1
previous page: a ‘‘different’’ version of a sketch of greek architect’s D.Pikionis(up) and the athenian ‘‘sediment’’(down) this page: the urban grid of Athens, the block, the apartment block and its construction model
We select 4 blocks in the centre of Athens, in an area with high density at the saddle of Strefi and Lycabettus hills. The key methodological tool of the new urban unit is the empty space not only used as a tool for analysis of the specific area but also as a basic design element.
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(1)
(2)
By joining four blocks (ATHENSx4) the empty space between them becomes of great importance. Released from the bottom level, the designed space can convert any remaining one on a common ground for citizens.
empty space, can transform notionally the construction grid of the building flat to a constructing step of empty space, creating a synthetic way of thinking. The empty space in this way can penetrate the built space adopting its construction module. A synthetic method which controls the deconstruction of built space through a process of changing over time it is proposed in order for a new urban cell to be produced. The empty space being the common place is analyzed through what it is composed, the natural elements: the light, the water, the air and the earth, in order to find the beginning of its re-composition.
The fragmented geometry of the built space in Athens which has arisen from the contemporaneous land fragmentation and the private multifunctionality produces a chaotic ridge in the city which in its turn gives a great mobility in its surrounding space. The compact of complementarity of the built/
(3)
the complementarity of the built/empty space (1), the constructing step of empty space (2) and the natural elements: the light, the water, the air and the earth(3) = the new block
As projection of the construction step of the empty space to the ground we recommend a grid of 2 * 2 m which provides a flexible structure of 6 essential substratum qualities which can accommodate a variety of activities. The selective mixing of the soil or of the recycled aggregates allows a wide variety of ground types which restore features from the Attic landscape.
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longitudinal section of the new block. the pedenstrian consists of a palette of materials , hosting a variety of activities, interacting with users. It penetrates the built space to join with the open spaces inside the smaller blocks and with the terraces at various levels.
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This urban mechanism can be considered as a pilot proposal. It is being developed into space progressively, recommending new urban cells with better quantitative and qualitative relation between “hidden “ and “uncoverd” space. The development of the new cell, through time, in relation to the gradual expansion of the free space in use against the built space, is being studied. The presence of the designed urban cross as useful empty space leads to the increase of the overall amount of free space from 20% to 35% at an early stage and to the utility of other open-unused spaces and roofs scattered inside the building blocks. The proposed cross can be described as a model’’flipper’’ of motion / position causing transversal forces / perforations to the buildings’ sides. These coming up passages through the built mass connect the cross with the other open space pieces. The urban free space in a possible later time occupies 45% -50% of the built mass. The shape of the older smaller blocks disappears. A new scheme that exactly describes this above mentioned ‘’corrosive’’ mechanism is created.
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The produced shape in a possible parallel development of the new cells is developed into a wider urban pattern. The design mechanism of management and production of the free space can be described as a motherboard, which based on specific parameters, leads to the shaping of space into the urban grid.
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NEW SCHOOL CAFE’ AND PROPOSAL OF SHELTERING AN OUTDOOR THEATER
COMPETITION 2009 TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF VOLOS-SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE COLLABORATOR: STOFOROS KOSTIS
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he aim of the synthesis process is the integration of the new building on the existing site of the university campus in terms of movement and morphological data. It is attempted the creation of a simple architectural shell flexibly adapted to the changing needs of the operational program and of the students’ requirements. The linear building is placed parallel to the main pedestrian axis, directly related to the existing School of the Architecture building and its outdoor theater.
this page: a scetch of first ideas next page: an overall perspective view of the model in the site
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this page: the interior space of the cafe’(left) the building’s facade changing during day (down) next page: construction detail of the building’s facade
The metal frame construction of the building leads to the minimization of construction time and of the in situ operations. Successive openings on the front side of the building, integrate the outdoor with the interior space (flexibility of movement and visual passes). The bioclimatic approach into design is seeked through shading, insulation, ventilation and energy conservation.
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a painting
AFTER PARTY 53
FROM THE PROJECT ‘‘WALLS’’ 2009
Inspired from a trip to New York city.
see it
from here
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Alexandros Kapsimalis was born in Athens, Greece, in 1986. He lived on the island of Santorini during his school years. He graduated from the School of Architecture-Engineering of National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) with a master degree of 9.26/10 in 2009. He is interested in furthering his studies at post-graduate level focusing on housing and urban design. His diploma project ‘’Museum of the Volcanoes in Santorini’’ (July 2009) under the supervision of Prof. T. Papaioannou took 10/10 and was published in the ‘’Architecture in Greece’’ Journal (issue 44/2010), as also in the ‘’Greek architects’’ website and participated in a workshop organised by TICCIH (The International Committee for the Conservation of the Industrial Heritage) (December 2010) He had the opportunity to participate in various competitions in design, architecture and urbanism. His team gained a commendation in the competition of ideas ‘’ATHENSx4’’ organised by EAXA (Unification of Archaeological Sites of Athens), being in the top 9 participants among 120 participations. The last five years he has been working occasionally at an architecture office in Santorini. He mainly deals with the housing design close to the construction process, collaborating with local builders’ crews and experimenting with building techniques and local materials.
arcoal@gmail.com 0030-210-6230100 athens, greece
He has been involved in painting through his project ‘’Walls’’, investigating the relation of color / light through the artwork in interior architecture space. He has knowlegde of English and German. He plays sports regularly (swimmingsnowboard-wakeboard).