Horizons

Students : Marianna Kaltsa, Constantinos Moustakas
Supervisor professor : Eirini Sakellaridou associate professor
School Department of Architecture. Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Presentation date : February 2014

This project is about three different scenarios, which are in a constant dialogue with the environment and the human itself, promoting a new kinesthetic experience. A destination for contemplation and pause from the everyday pressure and life in the city.

Specific principles define the form of the units. The cube, as a primitive geometrical solid, that resembles the hard and strict urban environment, and the cave, as a natural creation of an indoor space, where its organic and smooth curves make a reference to human vulnerability.

The interaction with this form is divided into three parts.

The first part is the moment when it is perceived by the viewer that puts the mind into a procedure to design a route in order to approach it. In the second part, the explorer is standing at the entrance of the unit where he recognizes a new system that lacks the typical horizontal and vertical orientation. The user is getting into a new consciousness, in order to align his body to this new interior, where a clockwise vertical movement engages him into a choreography and a free interaction with space through sitting, standing or lying. The multiple levels that form this unit, gradually become more 'turbulent', revealing the outdoor view, while giving the impression that the form annihilates. In the third part, the view is revealed through different optical filters that distort or 'comment' the surrounding environment. Specific objects in each scenario complete this experience with a reference to the human scale.

The three scenarios are differentiated according to their environment.

In the first scenario, the unit is placed above the city landscape. Vertical colorful and mirror glasses shutter the view of the city, while a kaleidoscope intensifies this impression. In the second scenario, the unit is located on the verge between the city and the natural environment. Wooden and rough surfaces tend to enhance a tactile interaction with the space. A telescope sets the view to a different target that places the human between microcosm and macrocosm. In the third scenario, the unit seems to float over the water surface. Crystals refract the natural light where even the wind and the waves contribute to the creation of a constantly changing effect. The spy glass allows the user to focus, explore and eventually broaden his horizons.

A transitive space is formed, where the horizon is gradually revealed, simultaneously with a contemplation on the vastness of the inner self.