CHRISTOS KOURTIDIS | DESIGN PORTFOLIO

DESIGN PORTFOLIO CHRISTOS KOURTIDIS

selected works 2016-2022

FOREVER PARK research community SOUVENIRS

CONTENTS

Plexus Morus

[RE_HUB]

A cultural and plastic pollution awareness hub

FOREVER PARK

MSc student:

Design Thesis

Christos Kourtidis

Supervisor: Dimitris Gourdoukis, PhD

Autumn semester 2020

component tool-box materials recyclable, natural community decentralised

Forever Park is an decentralised, self-sustainable, community of researchers that are aiming to research local natural materials and novel fabrication techniques. The community is located next to Linovrochi lake at Akarnania region of Greece, an agricultural area with many wetlands. The research center is the heart of the community, hosting the materials laboratory, workshops and co-working space. Another important part is the garden were food is produced. Communal kitchen and dorms constitute the living areas. The community buildings are made with mycelium panels that were created locally by fungi and vineyards’ agricultural waste.

FOREVER SELF-SUSTAINABILITY PARK RESEARCH COMMUNITY

kitchen and dorms research center

LOCAL SYSTEM

SITE - ISOMETRIC DIAGRAM

PROGRAM

community lab workshop study

garden settlement

kitchen

LINOVROCHI LAKE

study / co-working laboratory workshops

SOUVENIRS

MSc

student: Christos Kourtidis Techne 01, Prof.: Dimitris Gourdoukis, PhD Autumn semester 2019

The main task of this cource was the investigation of morphogenetic methods by parametric design tools, and the production of physical models by using digital fabrication techniques. More particularly, the generated digital designs were materialised by 3D printing, laser cutting and CNC milling router. In addition, there were analogue fabrication methods applied for model creation. Specifically, vacuum forming of PVC sheets and paper pulp molding.

The aim was to genetate a series of souvenirs based on abstruction, using as starting point an architectural element from a historic building of Thessaloniki.

PAPER PULP TEXTURES

PLEXUS MORUS

MSc students: Christos Kourtidis Panagiotis Malavazos Praxis 01, Prof.: D. Gourdoukis, A. Telios, S. Papadimitriou, D, Kontaxakis Autumn semester 2019

We have been inspired by god Hephaestus of Ancient Greek mythology to design his so called contemporary “temple”. This temple functions as a metallurgy guild that hosts practitioners and craftsmen blacksmiths, with an aim towards innovation. It is located on the mountainous side of Lemnos island, on a 10km distance from its port. The building’s form emerges as a continuous U-shape internal wall that “waves” and creates a continuous wall-floor-wall system, and two metal-plexus shells – one as external skin and another that encloses the central atrium. Overall, it appears as a semi-rusted seashell emerging from the hill.

On the first state of our research, we experimented with copper and clay, being inspired by Hephaestus’ copperwork ability and his chthonic nature.

We aimed to create a conceptual hybrid wall system from these two different materials.

Copper - malleable, we chose to use thin copper sheets (1mm).

Clay - malleable, easy to shape and imprint it before it gets solidified.

PROCESS AND TECHNIQUES

Folding [1] & Hammering [2] of copper sheets to create patterns.

Copper sheets’ pattern imprinted on clay [3], using pressure.

Incisions on copper sheets to create plexus surface [4].

Pressing the copper plexus on a clay sheet, combined surface [5].

There are workshops for various metal processes, including shorting and recycling, mechanical and machining processes, molding, and robotic fabrication. This facility is feeded by scrap metal of local industries, as well as from metal waste offered by the “devoted” community.

A cultural and plastic pollution awareness hub [RE_HUB]

Thesis project, students: Christos Kourtidis & George Kambanis Supervisor: Angelos Psilopoulos, email: angpsi@teiath.gr

October 2017 - May 2018

The starting point of this project was our interest in 3D printing and our fascination for the spatial possibilities of this democratising technology. In addition, the devastating severity of global marine plastic pollution, lead us to the decision to use locally recycled plastic for our spatial intervention. In this way, the promotion of circular economy is encouraged.

The process mechanical recycling of plastic

Shared on ARCHISEARCH

https://www.archisearch.gr/student-works/re_hub-cul tural-plastic-pollution-awareness-hub-thesis-chris tos-kourtidis-georgios-kampanis/

[RE_HUB] is a cultural hub located at the center of Mykonos Town with the purpose of raising awareness in the local community about plastic pollution. Therefore, it hosts educational activities, like workshops related to plastic recycling and 3D printing, and an interactive exhibition space, as well as cultural events.

Why Mykonos?

On the one hand, there is a huge amount of plastic water-bottle waste that is produced every year, because of the lack of drinking water on the island. On the other hand, the hub will have a tremendous visibility on a national and international level, since there are about two million visitors on Mykonos every year.

The aesthetic of our space is resulting from the idea of hybridity in spatial terms and it is expressed by the solid – translucent dipole. The term solid is referring to the existing space that has stone walls with white stucco, wooden floors, ceilings (when conserved) and windows. On the other hand, the term translucent refers to the light transmitting quality of the new plastic organism that inhabits the interior space, made from 3D printed recycled PET cells.

The new organism emerges from the ceilings of the interior space. Those courved forms are metaphorically flow towards the walls and to central spatial points of attraction. The image of those flowing, triangulated and translucent forms will be memorable to the visitors. We intended to create an interesting spatial impression that invites more people into this active space.

AMPHITHEATRE

FORM EVOLUTION

3D printed panel in 1:1 scale

D1 Detail of the connection of 3D printed roof panel with the wall

D1 Detail of the connection of 3D printed roof panel with the wall

Isometric drawing of the exhibition’s 3D printed roof structure

CORAL STRUCTURES

Design Project: Christos Kourtidis

March 2021

This is a study on computational design strategies based on growth systems. The goal was to experiment with forms generated by the growth loop that was applied on a variety of curves. The formal experimentation resulted in a series of coral-like artifacts. Then, the selected generated model was prepared to be 3D printed by a KUKA (KR200L140) robot with an extruder attached. A singular tool-path was generated, and a robotic construction simulation for 3D printing was setted up using KUKA.prc.

generated curves loft surface generated tool-path 3D printed model

robotic simulation

(T)rolling machine

Design team: Christos Kourtidis, Ilia Bebi, Magdalini

Pertoleka,

Location: Δe_Λab, website: thelab.design July and November 2018

During the Interaction Design workshop, organised by The Lab Architecture, we inspired, and then designed and constructed the (T)rolling machine. It is an interactive device, which functions thanks to an Arduino board that coordinates a number of sensors. The (T)rolling machine consists of two basic parts, the exoskeleton and the heart. The first is made by 30 wooden beams which are connected by 3D printed PETG connection nodes. The heart has spherical shape and it is made from PETG as well. It contains all the electronics and microcontrollers, and it is suspended in tension with cables from exoskeleton’s nodes. Those cables are transferring to the heart the information gathered from the environment, meaning the touch and movement of people that interact with it. As a result, the machine transmits light and sound signals, in correspondence with people’s interaction, and according to its programming.

Yes, I am a machine, I obey to orders and rules.

I am programmed to act unexpectedly, however, premeditated. You can not understand me, I am confusing you.

Pauline Goumenaki, Thanasis Vakasis

(T)rolling machine is placed in Nea Smyrni square in order to interact with people. Its reactions are defined by three stages: IDLE, TOUCH, MOVEMENT.

IDLE

Firstly, at the beginning of this stage, the machine is sleeping (I1) and the heart light’s blue periodically. After a short time period, it wakes up (I2) and trying to attract attention by lighting bright white light from the heart and exoskeleton’s LED strips, while Morse code sound can be heard from the buzzer. Unless someone touch it, it goes in sleeping mode and then in awake mode, repeatedly.

TOUCH

Secondly, if a person touch the exoskeleton, more precisely an aluminium strip, (t)rolling machine’s mode stage changes. For the first 5 touches it reacts awkwardly (T1) by lighting the heart from blue to white repeatedly. Also, if there is no human touch for 20 seconds, the machine returns to the I1 mode. In case of more than 5 touches in less than 20”, it moves on to the happiness mode (T2). Now, heart lights from blue to magenta and buzzer sounds “happy” in Morse code. Again, if no one touch it for 20”, it returns to the previous mode (T1). However, when repetitive touches count more than 10, machine’s mode turns crazy, so magenta lights from the heart repeatedly, while buzzer transmits loudly and LED strips light randomly. Finally, in case counter reach 20 touches, the break down mode is activated, where the machine stops functioning for a short time period and counter goes zero.

MOVEMENT

When the machine is rotated or moved by a person, it reacts unexpectedly. More specifically, a mode from the above is selected randomly in order to function.

TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION

Breadboard 1: Capacitive sensor is created by several passive components. Pin A0 of Arduino board is parallel connected to the tantalum capacitor C1 of 0.1 nF capacitance, the resistance R1 (1 MΩ), and the rectified diode D1 (1N4001 type). Capacitor C1 and resistance R1 are grounded. Tantalum capacitor C2 (10 nF) is connected to the diode D1 and the air-core inductor L. Also, capacitor C2 is connected with the wire which is soldered to the aluminium strips. Then, inductor L is parallel connected to two resistances, R2 (3.3 Ω) and R3 (10 KΩ). Finally, R2 is grounded and R3 connected to pin 9 of Arduino board.

Breadboard 2: Gyroscope GY, buzzer J and four transistors Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4. Gyroscope’s pins VCC and GND are wired to the power supply and the ground respectively, while pins SCL and SDA are connected to the equivalent of Arduino board (I2C protocol). The buzzer J is connected to the ground and to arduino’s pin 11(PWM). The four transistors are used in order to control LED strips. Each transistor has three endpoints, the one links to the ground, the middle one to the ground of a LED strip, and the last one to an Arduino pin. More specifically, three transistors correspond to the RGB LED strip, one for each colour, and the fourth to the white light LED strip.

Parametric construction IV

Location: SPACE UNDER, website: http://www.spaceunder.com/ March 2016

Participants: Angeliki Tzifa, Christina Geminaki, Christos Kourtidis, Maria-Christina Manousaki

SELECTED GEOMETRY

TENTION ANALYSIS

STRUCTURE SECTIONING

TECHNICAL DRAWINGS

On this workshop, organised by Space Under, we were involved in generative design process and CNC manufacturing technologies. The main objectives of the workshop are related to exploring architectural design through non-linear computational design methods and strategies.

Learning process included testing the interrelation of architecture and materiality and how we can achieve complex geometries. Computational and physics simulation tools were part of the process, used in order to define a variety of alternative forms. The selected form-found geometry was processed to technical drawings, laser cutted and assembled on site.

YER

Rail-yard Set is one of the main action sets of the action - thriller film “The Bricklayer” that was filmed in Thessaloniki from March to May 2022. This set contains a wooden platform with the old office - mechanics workshop built on it. A weathered structure with wooden frames and square-size windows all around.

SECTION

SECTION - A-A' scale 1:50@Α0

SECTION

Golden Coast apartments

Interior designer Attica Diamond, Athens, GR

Principal designer: Stamatina Koutalia

Personal role: Architectural and interior design, 3D model - renders

Status: Planning application April - June 2019

This project is about the renovation of a five-floor building in Perissos, Athens, Greece.

The old police head quarrters building is redesigned to a contemporary residential developement.

The program includes interior and exterior cafe-bar at the ground floor, and a total of 100 apartments (65 studio, 20 tworoom, 15 three-room).

Also, there is a semi open-air resturant at the terrace of the building, and parking area at the basement.

Freelance, cooperation

Personal role: Architectural design, 3D model - renders Status: Planning application September - October 2018

Private Residence in Rhodes

This project is a proposal for a private residence for a family of four in the northern part of Rhodes island, Greece. It is a two-floor house with basement and exterior pool. The building has an L shape plan, at the corner of which the staircase is located. The ground floor hosts two main spaces: the living room and the kitchen, from where a central yard is accessible. It is located between the building, the pool, and the pine trees on at its north side. Hence, is ideal for outdoor meals and gatherings during the summer, due to the shade and the panoramic view. On the first floor the family members’ bedrooms. Master bedroom is an inclusive space, in a distance from children’ bedrooms, to ensure parents’ privacy.

ΚΥΡΙΑ

CREMORNE ROAD CHELSEA, SW10

AZH Renovation

Internship | ORPROJECT , London, UK

Principal architect: Francesco Brenta

Design team: Christos Kourtidis, Giulia Gardelli, Giuseppe Campailla

Personal role: Architectural assistant

Status: Constructed November 2015 - January 2016

DINING ROOM - LIVING ROOM

AZH project was about the redesign of the first floor and second floor of a three-floor building in Chelsea, London. The owners bought this building in order to renovate and resell it. At the first floor the living room and dining room can be found, and the kitchen that is located in a separate room at the lowerfirst floor. The two bedrooms are located at the second floor, as well as the bathroom and the shower room. An exterior terrace can be found at a middle floor, which functions as an outdoor living and dining space.

KITCHEN

MASTER BEDROOM

DINING ROOM

BATHROOM

ARH Private Residence

Internship | ORPROJECT , London, UK

Principal architect: Francesco Brenta Design team: Christos Kourtidis, Riccardo Tognin

Personal role: Architectural assistant November 2015 - January 2016

ARH project was abour the redesign of the lower floor and ground floor of a fourfloor building in Hammersmith, London, in order to accommodate a family of four. The ground floor hosts all daytime activities and is approached as an open plan, offering the possibility to seperate the living room from the dining room and the kitchen by a slidding door, if needed. Also, a glass conservatory extention is added. On the lower floor there are three bedrooms and three bathrooms. Master bedroom occupies half of the floor space, and has direct access to the backyard.

LIVING ROOM

MASTER BEDROOM