Dimitra Bra Collection of Works
2015
Dimitra is an architect based in London. She studied architecture in University of Patras, moving forward as postgraduate student in Landscape Urbanism studio of Architectural Association, in London. Her work has been awarded and part of it exhibited in Benaki Museum.She builds an 'imaginary' toolbox of disciplines to reach a hybrid state between architecture and the arts, which is just informed with the understanding of complex territorial formations and landscapes.
In this booklet, you will experience: Studies on landforms, social formations, construction techniques and design
Contents New ground for flooding mechanisms Team: Dimitra Bra, Lida Driva, Silvia Ribot GIl MA Landscape Urbanism 2015 Exhibited in Architectural Association Projects Review Book,2015
Managing Madness; Athens in Crisis Team: Dimitra Bra, Chrysanthi Vathi Diploma Thesis in Patras School of Architecture
Mapping Disaster; Athens, Smyrna, New York, Fukushima Team: Dimitra Bra, Chrysanthi Vathi Diploma Thesis in Patras School of Architecture Exhibited in Biennale of SE Europe, 2012
The River System of Installations Redesign of Onassis Cultural Center Lobby Team: Drifting CIty, Dimitra Bra, Chrysanthi Vathi, Kassy Leontiadou Part Realised, 2012
House For A Sailor Realised Team: Alexandros Bras, Civil Engineer, Dimitra Bra, Architect Client: Private Comission in Athens, Greece, 2013
Catherine's House Realised Team: Alexandros Bras, Civil Engineer, Dimitra Bra, Architect Client: Private Comission in Athens, 2014
Future Archaeology International Competition, Calabria IT Team: Drifting CIty, Dimitra Bra, Chrysanthi Vathi, Theodora Moudatsou, Dimitra Papageorgiou
Shortlisted 20/300
Self Ostracism Ongoing Work Personal Project
*all drawings, collages, images displayed are of my creation, unless mentioned otherwise
Studies On Landforms Simulations Diagrams Prototypes
In these workshops, we are analysing the principles of a specific landform. In our case, it is the meandering rivers. We are studying their formation methods, based on a river’s sinuocity rules, we examine how erosion and deposition affects its position and patterns in time, how the sediment is involved in this formation or in cases of flooding. We produced physical models of differentriver conditions and we examined the implications of a meandering rivertranspassing and merging with the urban and rural environment. Finally, we studied how human intervention affects in a timescale the pattern and the physical condition of a meandering river. That means how the use of dams, gravel pits,pumping wells,filling of swamps withdirt and construction materials or the bank stabilization cause effects in the formation process. FInally, we study the formation of oxbow lakes, under which conditions they occur, whether their existence is caused naturally or artificially and how they affect the environment.
Formation of Epistemic landscape
urban network
Knowledge skilled potential
potential placement
overall population
Landscape created according to the distribution of knowledge economies in London
representation of an “epistemic� landscape in East London area
Contouring the potential placement of knowledge skilled
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Architectural Association MA Landscape Urbanism
Thesis Project
Flooding Mechanisms: A new Ground for Water Management Work Presented in open jury day in AA 2015
Landscape Urbanism Studio
Flooding Mechanisms: A new Ground for Water Management ABOUT
The main objective of this project is to perceive the river as a “living� mechanism that through avulsion processes can create productive grounds for territorial, social and environmental formations. This can be generated along an ever changing system of water management, exploiting the potentials of flooding. The development pressure that is imposed to riparian landscapes due to their potential in agricultural productivity is directly reflected in the water management policies that rule each territory. Could a new water management policy be a territorial praxis that, by challenging the natural river dynamics, would create a resilient yet productive ground for social and morphological prosperity of the landscape? The project sets off from a European scale reflecting the centralised vision of water management and then focuses in the case of Spain in the riparian territories of Navarre, which are recently suffering from development pressure due to the industrialization and mechanization of agriculture. The ongoing canal project in the area generates a conflict between traditional farmers and large industrial corporations, as it contributes to monoculture and bigger ownership plot concentrations eliminating the small scale agricultural and traditional irrigation methods. The specific site conditions such as the seasonal movement of temporary workers according to the labour demand, the difficulty of dealing with flooding and the fact that local quality products are unique in this region, while Spain seeks for regions that could offer high-quality products create an interesting framework. The productive and hydrological dynamics in terms of social formations of this particular territory are intersected with the specific geomorphological qualities that allow the formation of political entities, Micro Flooding Units, driven from the generated avulsions. The aforementioned intersection and the eagerness of fabricating a productive dynamic landscape is followed by a set of interventions guidelines, with which we structure our proposal. The essence of time is a crucial parameter throughout the whole project as our interventions are placed by taking into account seasonal flooding events and the reaction of nature.
Guidelines Guidelines for for River River Diversion Diversion Techniques
Techniques
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Geomorphological Map Formation of River dynamics in Arga River, Spain
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Morphology of Water Politics GEOMORPHOLOGY: Study Area
Cluster of formed islands Proposal for the anostomosing floodplain
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AA Landscape Urbanism 2014-15 //
Micro Flooding Unit Unit Development Development Micro-Flooding Spatial Organisation Spatial Organisation Topographic Simulations 7RSRJUDSKLF 6LPXODWLRQV
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Atlas for new manufactured grounds Prediction mapping for potentially affected Pan European Territories
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Academic Projects
Mapping Disaster; Athens, Smyrna, NY, Fukushima Managing Madness; Athens in Crisis University of Patras
Underground Ephemeral Market_Plan View
-12.00 m
MANAGING MADNESS WHICH CRISIS? Since 2008, Athens is best defined by the term 'city of constant crisis': riots happening mainly downtown, due to economical and political demise, disturb and ruin the urban fibre around the historical center. The most vulnerable areas are around the central squares with dedicated metro stations: Omonoia square, Panepistimio, monastiraki, Syntagma. We identify a civil 'hole' in the main axis that connects Omonoia to Syntagma and carries the path of riots, towards the Parliament, the main target of anger. That hole is localised in Klafthmonos Square. Wifi is quickly replacing the natural ear-toear spread of news, thus enhances mass interaction and creates new forms of human patterns. WE: Decide to use the Web to create another dimension of public space : a digital square that exists on the net, collects info from users and alters or redefines the concrete one. And the actual, by reforming the urban space of Klafthmonos Square. The one feeds the other. working between parallel projections of the urban landscape, we create a hybrid public space, one that self feeds and absorbs damage, re emitting it as collective information.
Diploma Project Collaborator: Chrysanthi Vathi Supervisor: Petros Babasikas
3d diagrammatic section, 3d diagrammatic cut, proposal pre pre-model model
Study of Central Athens Squares
Data flow Diagram
21.00 pm
daily life
19.00 pm
12.00 am
9.00 am
emergency
Data flow
People Concentration
Volumes Density Diagram
Urban Surrounding Traces
urban tracings
Trace to Propylaia
Connection to Subway
Connection with underground arcades
Ancient Walls of Athens
Digital Layer Happy
Unhappy
Crowd Patterns
there is a fine line between peace and disaster; A fragile equilibrium.
Smyrna
New York Athens
Tokyo
Catastrophy in Networked Cities
MAPPING Mapping DISASTER Disaster in Networked Cities
Research Project Exhibited:Biennale of Thessaloniki Architecture and Urbanism in SE Europe 2012 Collaborator: Chrysanthi Vathi Supervisor: Petros Babasikas
The contemporary city is defined by the full interconnection among others, shrinking distances and homogenization. Cities expand beyond geographical borders and eventually become hub points dispersed in the global grid of capital and transaction. The essence of space is altered, as it no longer lies on its spatial dimensions but on the effect of time; this which Castells calls space of flows and James Corner milieu. The network becomes a basic means for communication between people, transaction of goods and mostly spread of information. The structure of the global city is based on networks thus its viability depends on them. If one or more connections between the city hubs breaks, as would happen on a computer network, the urban system passes through multiplied disturbances from an equilibrium to another. This procedure is called catastrophe. The ability to resist, absorb and adapt to these disturbances is crucial for the resilience of a city, defines collective memory and generally consists of an integral part of the nature and history of cities. These theories are being tested in four case studies: Smyrna, New York, Athens, Tokyo transform into information. Mapping is conscripted as a basic means of the city imprint, in order for these case studies to be analyzed. Four dynamic mapping techniques- drift, layering, gameboard, rhizomeproduce four maps through which we attempt to collect results related to the disasters, actions and alterations of the urban field.
Rhizome Map
Smyrna 1922, Memories of Destruction Map
Rhizome Map Smyrna 1922,Memories of Destruction Map
“...Returning to the street I found the stampede from the fire just beginning. All of the refugees that had been scattered through the streets or stowed in churches and other institutions were moving toward the waterfront. Steadily augmenting this flow were those abandoning their homes in the path of the fire...It was now dark. The quay was already filled with tens of thousands of terrified refugees moving aimlessly between the customs house and the point, and still the steady stream of new arrivals continued, until the entire waterfront seemed one solid mass of humanity and baggage of every description.�
Rhizome Map
Smyrna 1922, Memories of Destruction Map
Psychogeographical Map of Smyrna of Disaster, Research Project Psychogeographical map of Smyrna,part research project
Future Archaeology A Journey into the abandoned highway of Calabria
Selected Images, Shortlisted 2012
Research Nests, Costaviola IT
Hanging Motel, Deborah Bridge(Favazzina,Italy)
THE RIVER
Design Comission Athens GR Onassis Cultural Center Role: Assistant Architect Drifting City
The River transforms human, urban and cultural movement into data and then creates new movement through its architecture. It flows over the lobby of the Onassis Cultural Centre in Athens, mapping and feeding back change from inside and outside the building. The River is a 110m long frieze carrying an embedded, custom-made, program mable, transparent LED display. Integrated with projections, touch screens and furniture in a continuous material structure with a series of architectural plug-ins, the River broad casts images, words and information, directs movement from the City to the Stage, generates encounters and creates collectivities through touch. The River is both hardware and software; virtual and physical; interactive-digital and analog-fluid, solid and discretely luminous. It activates architectural forms and interfaces between the crowd, perfor mance, traffic, atmosphere and shape, notation, light, images, words. The River tells linear and non-linear stories.
Realised Works
House for a sailor Catherine's House
Installation Works
Drifting City Studio
House for a sailor Private Comission Structural Engineer: Alexandros Bras Realised,2009
South View
North View
House in Sifnos Construction Details
+ 5.80
Realised, 2012 + 3.50
+ 1.70
± 0.00
6 12
30
36
Thermal Insulation Barrier
Reinforced Concrete BrickLaying ΚΕΝΟ ΑΕΡΟΣ Wooden Stepping
Plate made of Reinforced Concrete ΘΕΜΕΛΙΟ ΑΠΟ ΣΚΥΡΟΔΕΜΑ
Wooden Roof
Reinforced Concrete
Insulation Wooden Beam Τhermal Insulation
ΒrickLaying Wooden Flooring Μortar
Window Glass
marble ending
Reinforced Concrete Foundation
Static Mechanism
Reinforced Concrete Plate
+ 5.80 + 5.80
+ 4.00 + 4.00
+ 3.50 + 3.50
+ 3.05 + 3.05
+ 0.50 + 0.50 + 0.05
± 0.00 + 0.05
- 0.50 - 0.50
- 2.50
- 2.40 - 2.50
- 2.40
± 0.00
Catherine’s House Renovation of an urban apartment Private Comission, 2014
Realised
Catherine is a pharmacist, who likes to think a house as a fortress she runs to hide off work. It hides her mysteries, her cinnamon smells, her indulgence to food experimentations and spa’s. After long communication, the house was constructed under 3 rules; fire, earth and water. Fire is experimentation, is high temperatures and noise. It is the kitchen. It can hide and unhide, from the rest of the place; it is divided from a long, brass movable wall, serving as art when closed and revealing the busy extended kitchen space, when opened. Upstairs, the bathroom is transformed into a spa, as water is falling off the ceiling, transforming the space to a sea, where the city flows away.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
{Fire}
{Air}
{Ground}
{Gold}
{Earth}
{Magnet}
{Water}
8 {Saltstone}
3.25
0.30 0.20
2.50
1.39
4.95
0.63
1.30
1.70
6.18
1.50
0.33
2.70
1.02
0.36
1.07
7.79
2.14
1.38
3.54
1.22
1.52
0.20
Earth, Water, Fire: Key elements
Self-Ostracism Or how a treehouse acts as repulsion of memories
“La jetee�(film) tells a story of a man, prisoner in the aftermath of the Third World War, in a destroyed, post-apocalyptic Paris . Scientists research time travel, hoping to send test subjects to different time periods "to call past and future to the rescue of the present". They have difficulty finding subjects who can mentally withstand the shock of time travel. They test their theoris on him; his key to the past is a vague but obsessive memory, from his pre-war childhood, of a woman he had seen on the observation platform at Orly Airport shortly before witnessing a startling incident there. After having suffered these experiments, this man results in seious brain damages, leading to hallucinations and strong anti social characteristics. He decides to build a house in a tall tree, from where he can observe the world and fight with his fragmented memories.
The shelter has a piano room, an observation room, and stairs which he is not sure if they are real : They lead to nowhere.Moving its walls, is like triggering his imagination; The effort he makes to do that, ressembles the dark memories of his other self he is maniacally trying to repel. The circle symbolizes the eternal loop within his own self; and enless journey between reality and hallucinations.
Ongoing Project Personal Work
PLAN walls moved +12.00 m
Afterimage of the Man that lives in the Treehouse Merged Photo: Diane Arbus
Four objects of use:
mattress
piano
binoculars
notebook
The Man that lives in the treehouse: perception of space
“In the shadow we again see a precious terror. Thank God, it's still only Purgatory. With a shudder, we cross what the occultists call dangerous territory. In my wake I raise up monsters that are lying in wait; they are not yet too ill-disposed toward me, and I am not lost, since I fear them. “
Manifesto of Surrealism