Iakovina Syrianou _ Portfolio 2024

Iakovina Syrianou

interests # # # # # # # # # # experience narratives atmosphere emotions exhibitions ephemeral small-scale art concept graphic design

fast learner efficiency sketching model making photography “ Transforming abstract concepts into tangible spatial expressions “ * skills # # #

problem solving attention to detail

team wotking skills

creativity

Hi!

I am Iakovina and I am an architect|designer.

To me, spatial design is much more than defining spaces. It is an art that creates atmospheres, narrates stories, and shapes experiences through material [or not] structures.

Thus, while designing, the aim is always to transform abstract concepts into tangible, spatial expressions, using volumes, textures, light and colors.

This portfolio forms a collection of selected projects that illustrates my design journey up to the present day.

email

iakovinasyr@gmail.com

EDUCATION

Master in Ephemeral Architecture and Temporary Spaces, MEATS ELISAVA

2022-2023

final gpa: 10/10

Master in Architecture, National Technical University of Athens, School of Architecture

2012 - 2019

final gpa: 8,6/10

Instituto Superior Tecnico, Lisbon

February 2017 - June 2017

Erasmus placement

DESIGN SOFTWARE SKILLS

autocad 2023

adobe photoshop CS6

adobe illustrator CC19

rhino 2019

indesign 2021

3ds studio max

sketchup 2020

LANGUAGES

greek native english

C2 | full professional working proficiency

spanish

B2/C1 | good working proficiency

catalan basic comprehension

exhibition design intern | Queralt Suau studio | May 2023 - March 2024 architect | exhibition design, construction plans, diagrams and graphic representation of narratives

freelance architect.interior designer | November 2021 - June 2022 renovation projects and architectural plans

designer | studiomateriality | November 2019 - October 2021 branding, concept development, interior design, project management and supervision of construction

EXHIBITIONS | INSTALLATIONS

“Naufragis . Arqueología submarina”, competition proposal . winning project proposal for the itinerancy of the exhibition in collaboration with Queralt Suau estudio and Opisso studio

“Dues Pedres” . Palau Robert | December-June 2024 Queralt Suau exhibition design project

“Inviting Life” . Mies Van der Rohe Pavilion | June 2023 + Pop-up in SUSA’S exhibition Shangai | September-November 2023 5 days exhibition in Mies Van der Rohe Pavilion + pop-up exhibition of the project in Shangai

“Aguait” | June- October 2023 nomadic ephemeral installation for “El Camí del Riu” as part of the Master in Ephemeral Architecture and Temporary spaces, elisava | design team: MEATS 2022-2023, Jordi Queralt, Antonio Montes Boada, Roger Paez

“UMBRA” . elisava . LLUM BCN light festival | February 2023 light installation for LLUM BCN light festival 2023, as part of the Master in Ephemeral Architecture and Temporary spaces, elisava |design team: MEATS 2022-2023, Antonio Montes Boada, Roger Paez, Mar Gene, Playmodes

THESIS PROJECT | RESEARCH

“Re-designing Delos’ Network” . Approach of the island of Delos as an open air museum | 2018 - 2019 thesis project . NTUA | Design: Vouza Alexandra, Syrianou Iakovina, Faridou Despoina | Supervisor: Papaioannou Tasis

“Light|Space|Spirit:Light as a means of communication between human spirit and space” | 2018 dissertation . NTUA | Team: Moraiti Athina, Syrianou Iakovina | Supervisor: Tsiraki Sofia

PUBLICATIONS | AWARDS

“INVITING LIFE” . book publication of the project Inviting Life, 2024 collaboration of Mies Van der Rohe Foundation,Stella Rahola Matutes, Roger Paez and MEATS ELISAVA Mies Van der Rohe Foundation publication

AGUAIT . elisava masters awards | July 2023 winner of elisava master awards in the category of spatial design

UMBRA . elisava . LLUM BCN light festival | February 2023 atmosphere award by the committee of LLUM BCN, for creating a double experience, one from seeing it from afar and one from its interior, while creating, through an intangible element, a defined space inside a larger one

THE TECHNICAL CHAMBER OF GREECE (TCG) | March 2022 awarded for the diploma thesis project “Re-designing Delos’ Network”

ARCHISEARCH | “The apple tree” pediatrician’s office in Athens by studiomateriality, January 2021 https://www.archisearch.gr/interiors/the-apple-tree-pediatricians-office-in-koukaki-athens-by-studiomateriality/

DESIGNBOOM | bright color contrasts + graphic lettering realize ice cream store by studiomateriality, August 2020

https://www.designboom.com/architecture/bright-color-contrasts-graphic-lettering-ice-cream-store-studiomateriality-greece-08-28-2020/

thesis project

graphic design

. illustrations

Dues Pedres . Paisatges Persistents

Queralt Suau project . Palau Robert | stage: realised, december 2023 - june 2024 category: exhibition

Umbra | Llum BCN 2023

Llum BCN 2023 . ELISAVA | stage: realised, february 2023 category: light installation

Inviting Life | Mies Van der Rohe Pavilion

Mies Van der Rohe Foundation . ELISAVA | stage: realised, june 2023 category: exhibition

Aguait

CepVi . ELISAVA | stage: realised, may-october 2023 category: installation

The

Four

ephemeral architecture & exhibitions

CHAPTER I

SCALE 1:10.000

7 Landscapes of “Pedra Seca” In Catalonia [Sala 1-3]

CHAPTER II

SCALE 1:10 - 1:1

Placing “Pedra Seca” in the center,the uses, the

CHAPTER III

SCALE 1:1 - 1:100.000

Landscape and Times: Evolution of landscapes,anonymity of the people involved in this evolution [Sala 5]

PROLOGUE

SCALE 1:100.000

Mosaic of diverse landscapes of Catalonia [Sala 1]

EPILOGUE

SCALE 10:1 - 1:100.000

Scales: The skin of the margener,the surface of the stone [Sala 6]

Dues Pedres . Paisatges persistents

Queralt Suau studio | Palau Robert category: exhibition design design: Queralt Suau studio photography: Eloi Sànchez Rivas stage: realised, december 2023 - june 2024

The exhibition “Dues pedres. Paisatges persistents” at Palau Robert aims to showcase the rich heritage of dry stone construction, a millennia-old technique shaping landscapes across the Catalan regions. highlighting the significance of dry stone in contemporary and future territorial contexts.

Recognized by UNESCO in 2018, dry stone construction exemplifies sustainability with diverse constructive possibilities for the present and future, aligning with climate change mitigation.

Throughout the exhibition, the narrative unfolds in three ambits. In the first one, the project emphasizes Catalonia’s diverse landscapes, showcasing seven of them, where dry stone constructions are intrinsic. In the second one, explores the universal values of dry stone, illustrating its presence across the Mediterranean and its positive environmental impact. Finally, in the third the content focuses on rural repopulation and its positive consequences for landscape recovery through dry stone constructions.

The exhibition asserts that dry stone is not just a characteristic of landscapes and extraordinary heritage but also a source of inspiration and a reservoir of values essential for facing contemporary challenges. The showcased landscapes, characterized by dry stone, represent not only material richness but also immaterial values crucial for the present and future. The project encourages appreciation for the persistency and relevance of dry stone landscapes, emphasizing their importance in ongoing rural revitalization initiatives.

constructive details of exhibition systems in chapter II a. bench, b. supportive structure for models, c. supportive structure for books

_conceptual plans

Situated in the Poble Nou district, at 41°24’17.9”N 2°11’52.6”E, the site of UMBRA has progressively been removed from meaning through dematerialization; leaving a functionless space in an organized city-grid. As it awaits a new destiny and serves as a spontaneous local-resident square or extended school playground, UMBRA comes to create a new landscape.

Focusing on enhancing the characteristics of the space itself: the feeling of a void, gathering as a community, the act of play and curiosity, and the feeling of wonder, UMBRA forms a meeting of shadows and movement of each of the individuals whose presence gives a new value to physical emptiness. The installation explores the interaction of human bodies with light and shadow with the aim of generating a new intangible space in the middle of the supposed emptiness of the city’s landscape.

Umbra

Llum BCN 2023 | Elisava category: light installation design: Antonio Montes Boada, Roger Paez, Mar Gené, playmodes studio, MEATS 2022-2023 photography: Mariano Rodríguez + personal archive videography: Mariano Rodríguez stage: realised, february 2023

umbra [ ˈʌmbrə ] n.

1.the fully shaded inner region of a shadow cast by an opaque object, especially the area on the earth or moon experiencing the total phase of an eclipse.

2. LITERARY shadow or darkness.

_photos: Iakovina Syrianou

Mies Van der Rohe’s pavilion includes the pavilion itself, as well as the whole ecosystem and biotope around it. The garden’s biotope has a huge invisible effect on the Pavilion’s materials and the links with other organic agents constantly create an imbalance, a tension.

Nowadays, the pavilion’s relationship with nature is interrupted by the daily, exhaustive maintenance it receives to maintain its clean, invariable aspect and prefixed image. This maintenance consists of tasks that eliminate the growth of mosses and lichens on the Pavilion’s travertine.

Following the project ‘Beautiful Failures’ (2019-2021) - which questioned the fragility and vulnerability of the two most delicate materials of the Pavilion’s construction: glass and travertine - in this second part,‘Inviting Life’ we propose a re-reading of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Pavilion through an exploration of the building’s constituent materials and its relationship with its surroundings.

We studied the factors that transform materials by natural effects and this experimental process and its outcome were showcased in a week-long exhibition through 7 main interventions in and around the Pavilion.

Inviting Life

Mies Van der Rohe Foundation | Elisava category: exhibition design design:Stella Rahola Matutes, Roger Paez, MEATS 2022-2023 photography: Photo: Aleix Plademunt + personal archive stage: Mies Van der Rohe Pavilion | realised, june 2023 SUSAS’23 Exhibition, Shanghai | realised, sept.-nov. 2023

The Fragment

Travertine seems to be a strong and resistant material but its porous nature makes it fragile and results in occassional breaking of the floor slabs. The broken pieces, if possible, get repaired by the Foundation and return back to their original positions and if not, they stay in a forever limbo in the basement under the Mies Van der Rohe Pavilion.

Those pieces in limbo were the starting point of our analysis. They were all catalogued and one of them, which belonged to a slab originally positioned near the entrance of the pavilion, was meticulously examined, exploring the travertine´s porosity and speculating its symbiotic relationship with the lichen and its transformation process, through the technique of lithography

This fragment, after its analysis, got lost and this absence is represented by placing the non-missing half of the slab in its initial position.

“The fragment” in Inviting Life exhibition

I.slab inventory

II.the fragment’s analysis

a.photo

b.plans

c.lithography of cavities’ presence d.lithography of lichens ‘presence

_RIGHT

photo: Aleix Plademunt

_LEFT

The Carpet

The main space of the Pavilion became the archival library of the fragment’s analysis, containing all the lithographies created. They were positioned in the center of the space, creating a new carpet, a substitution to the existing one, maintaining its exact position and size.

The original one was placed behind the marble wall, in a dialogue with the lithography one.

_photos: Aleix Plademunt

The Tools

Tool List *

Tray of moss [rhytidiadelphus triquetrus]

40x30cm x 1

Latex Gloves x 2

Paint brushes x 3

Tweezers x 7

Alcohol, 250ml x 4

Petri dishes x 6

Plastic Bucket x 1

Pressure Sprayer x 1

Cotton balls [bag] x 2

Scalpel x 3

Yoghurt x 6

Milk x 3

Droppers [small] x 5

Droppers [big] x 1

Blades pack x 1 [10]

Test tubes x 15

Blender x 1

Plastic sheet x 6

During the exploration of how travertine relates with lichens, moss was found growing inside the cervices of several travertine slabs. This was the starting point to initiate an inoculation process on the catalogued slabs in “limbo”, lended to us by Mies Van der Rohe Foundation.

_photos: Aleix Plademunt

The Diary

Over six months, three inoculations were executed with the goal of growing as much moss as possible on the surfaces of the broken travertine slabs. The three processes and their results were photographed and documented in the moss diary which during the exhibition, was placed in the main room of the Pavilion, as a living record of life inside it.

_LEFT

a.the diary

photo: Aleix Plademunt b.inoculation process

photos: personal archive

_RIGHT

a.inoculation process

photo: personal archive b.the diary

The Pool

As water is a central element, defining life itself,the pool became an area of exploration, were the only action needed was to welcome life back. For the 10 days before and during the exhibition, the maintenance team ceased the addition of chlorine and disinfectants to the water, allowing the biota to proliferate and thrive.

Through this process, the water lilies, found after years the means to come back to life, despite the insufficient depth of the water.

_LEFT

the pool during inviting life photos: [up] personal archive [down] Aleix Plademunt

_RIGHT

documentation of the pool color during the intervention

The Slabs

For the exhibition some floor slabs were removed to be substituted by the ones in limbo, on which the inoculation process was carried out. This was a way to give back to the pieces in limbo, at least for a while, their space in the pavilion. The removed pieces were placed in a row behing the big wall, and as 5 of them broke during the installing process of the exhibition, the material itself restated its fragility.

_photos: Aleix Plademunt

The Crack

The main gesture of Inviting Life exhibition was the creation of the crack as an attempt to give an architectural reading to the Pavilion’s materiality. For this reason, some of the pavilion’s floor slabs were

_photos: Aleix Plademunt

“Aguait” is an ephemeral device that allows to get closer to the banks of the Mediona-Riudebitlles river, in Alt Penedès. Its aim is to bring us closer to nature in an organic and sensitive way by creating a space for observation and attention that attempts to intensify our relationship with the landscape, giving importance to some perceptions such as constant changes in light, birdsong or swift clouds.

Apart from being a space for contemplation, Aguait was also designed as a platform for various activities such as talks, debates, acoustic concerts, recitals or story readings, all focused in raising awareness in water-related issues (cultural,technical, recreational, social) and promote action to protect a resource so precious and fragile.

Aguait

CEPVI (Centro de Estudios del Paisaje Vitivinícola) | Alt Penedès County Council | Elisava category: installation design: MEATS 2022-2023, Jordi Queralt Suau, Antonio Montes Boada, Roger Paez

Photography: Jose Hevia stage: realised, june - october 2023

_photos: Jose Hevia

aguait [ ah-wai ] v.,n.

1. to be attentive, to pay attention , to be aware and poised.

2.an installation from where you can observe animals, especially birds, without disturbing them or being seen

3.a landscape intensifier - an architectural medium through which to experience the intrinsic qualities of the river path sites. _UP

reference imageof drying paper in the paper mills of Penedes _LEFT

conceptual diagram about: a.views to the sky b.sounds of nature c.sensation of the breeze

Mediona

Sant Quintí de Mediona

Sant Pere de Riudebitlles

Torrelavit

Sant Sadurní d´ Anoia

Subirats

Aguait is a nomadic architecture that visited, from June to October 2023, the 6 municipalities of the Camí del Riu. Every three weeks the large temporary element and along with the activities of “The Culture of Water” moved to the next municipality, generating new links and relationships in the area. The stone base of the installation, a unique bench for each municipality, remains permanently in the landscape as a trace and memory of Aguait, as well as a call to host future actions.

interior design & branding *

Burrattino Spritzeria & Athens Ivy Suites Reception

studiomateriality project category: interior design and branding | hospitality photography: Alina Lefa stage: completed, may 2021

_Tarkett

Dimmed Accent Vinyl Floor

_Tarkett

Dimmed Airy Vinyl Floor

_benjamin moore 1465

nimbus

_marble pink of pteleos

_ral 6034 pastel turquoise

_benjamin moore 052 conch shell

_benjamin moore 080 daylily

_medley tiles 60x60 dark grey pop

_Tarkett Dimmed Accent Vinyl Floor

_benjamin moore 1465 nimbus

_marble pink of pteleos

_benjamin moore 080 daylily

_ral 6034 pastel turquoise

_medley tiles

60x60 dark grey pop

Burrattino Spritzeria

studiomateriality project category: interior design and branding | hotel’s bar photography: Alina Lefa stage: completed, may 2021

_photo: Alina Lefa

_photo: Alina Lefa

_Tarkett Dimmed Airy Vinyl Floor

_benjamin moore 1465 nimbus

_marble pink of pteleos

_benjamin moore 052 conch shell

_ral 6034 pastel turquoise

Athens Ivy Suites

studiomateriality project

category: interior design and branding | hotel’s front desk photography: Alina Lefa stage: completed, may 2021

_photo: Alina Lefa

_benjamin moore 202 yellowstone

_benjamin moore 077 fiery opal

_ral 5010 gentian blue

_benjamin moore 685

verdigris _benjamin moore 1388 spring lilac

The apple tree

studiomateriality project

category: interior design and branding for pediatrecian’s office photography: Alina Lefa stage: completed, december 2020

_photos: Alina Lefa

pediatrician’s office plan

_construction details a.swing b.playground constructions c-d. framework of the blue divider

_photo: Alina Lefa

_photos: Alina Lefa

_section C

_fishtale floor

_oak wood

_tiles durham grey 20x20

_benjamin moore 1487 herbal escape

_benjamin moore 777 summer nights

_tiles 5x20 ceramica vogue ceruleo

Rooster’s Barbershop

studiomateriality project category: interior design and branding | barbershop dphotography: Alina Lefa stage: completed, june 2020

RIGHT

_photo: Alina Lefa

_section.stage a

_barbershop’s front view.stage a

_barbershop’s floor plan

RIGHT _barbershop’s front view.stage b _section.stage b

_Rooster’s price list

architecture & ephemeral constructions *

Redesigning Delos ’ Network

thesis project NTUA 2018 - 2019

category: architecture and ephemeral constructions

design team: Iakovina Syrianou, Vouza Alexandra, Faridou Despoina

supervisor professors: Tasis Papaioannou, Karadimas Kostas

IDENTIFIED ISSUES

1. Insufficient museum facilities and incapability to display exhibits in a comprehensive way

2. Insufficient port facilities for visitors and boats

3. Absence of shadowed areas throughout the archaeological site

4. Erratically placed exhibits, all over the archaeological site, make the ancient city’s structure illegible to the visitor

5. The sacred centre of the ancient city is not highlighted to the visitor

6. The sacred lake site is not visitable due to dense vegetation

7. The ancient coastline and limit of the port are not legible

8. Absence of the sense of the ancient city’s scale, except for in the theater district

9. Lack of accessibility for people with disabilities to the theater district

10. Necessity for protection and conservation of many scattered statues and mosaics. visitors’ needs needs of the archaeological site for protection and conservation of the exhibits needs to highlight the exhibits

_model_scale 1:200

The port

_top view_designed in scale1:200

_identified issues

1. Ticket issuance and check happen at the same spot, resulting in overcrowding in front of the ticket office

2. Extremely short distance between the arrival spot of the ships and the ticket office

3. Lack of information points for visitors without a guide

4. Lack of shaded areas

_objectives of design

1. Create shaded resting areas

2. Cafeteria

3. Extra WC facilities for visitors

4. More space for the ships to anchor

5. Information points for visitors

6. Defined resting area after the entrance in the site for the organization of the groups

7. Museum shop before ticket checking

8. Special entrance for people with priority passes or mobility difficulties

Information kiosks

_top of kynthos mountain_viewpoint

_design principles

1. Reversibility

2.Integration of the constructions in the landscape through the use of sustainable materials, such as wood

3. Simplicity | linearity

4. Single architectural vocabulary in the shading constructions of the port and the museum, so that they all signify a place for rest, shadow, view and information

5.The orientation of each kiosk differentiates depending on the terrain and the important viewpoints that surround it.

_lions and lake_information point

_theater district_information point

_model_scale 1:200

_modular node constructive details

The museum

_axonometric view_ scale 1:200

_model_scale 1:200

_design principles

1. augmentation of exhibition space and continuous flow of movement in the museum

2. highlight of the main exhibits, the lions, by placing them in a more spacious room, facing the East, as in their original position

3. restoration of contact between all exhibition spaces and the atriums

4. addition and integration of extra storage space and laboratories in a new, linear, simple-form, concrete building, behind the existing museum

5. integration of the shop in the center of the museum on the ground floor and of the cafeteria in the corresponding space of the 1st floor

6. unified materiality of all interventions in the old building of the museum (wood, metal and concrete) so that the new additions can be perceivable by the visitor and separable from the existing parts

graphic design & illustrations *

_the four harmonious friends

Four Harmonious Animals

personal project category: illustration project stage:in progress

The tale of the four harmonious animals is one of the Jataka tales, of Buddhist mythology. It is a depiction of social and environmental harmony that teaches us the importance of interdependence.

Once upon a time in a land far, far away, in a jungle near Varanasi, next to a big fruit tree, lived four friends: a bird, a rabbit, a monkey and an elephant.

The partridge was there since the beginning. It brought the seed and therefore was there when the tree was only a tiny sprout. Back then it could easily reach the plant to gather the fruits. But as the tree grew, it became more and more difficult to get food, as it was unable to fly.

Then along came the hare. The hare would eat off the ground and lift the partridge up so that it could reach the fruits. This way, they could both fill their stomachs. Sadly for them though, the tree continued to grow, and soon, the partridge couldn’t reach it, even on the back of the hare.

Then fortunately, along came the monkey. The monkey climbed the tree and dropped the fruits on the ground for the rabbit and the partridge. But this didn’t always work. Getting the fruit at the very top was a challenge, but this was only until the elephant came along.

The animal friends, with the help of the elephant, could easily reach the fruits at the top of the tree, so there was plenty of food for everybody.

The dynamics the animals shared,worked because none of them were concerned about themselves and instead prioritised helping others get what they needed. They were not shy to ask for help or receive it when they needed it. The partridge being the most vulnerable needed the most help and was not hesitant to ask for it. But we have to remember that if it wasn´t for it that brought the seed there wouldn´t be food at all.