A sensory pathway

Student: Vivi Annousi
Supervisor: Sasa Lada, Aleka Alexopoulou
School of Architecture, AUTH
Presentation date : October 2014

The main intent of the present graduate thesis was the design of a space for the production and presentation of a spectacle in such a way that there is room for doubt and deviation, where possible, of the established perception that we have regarding the theater and the role of the audience in a play. The purpose was the organization of a different experience. The space takes the main role and tells a story, by using its own language, and, at the same time, every walker has a more active attitude and becomes the main character in his own path.

At first, the place which could host such an event was sought under the criterion of the element of "unexpected" in order to be consistent in the desire of "different" spectacle. For that reason, the ground-level parking area of Karavan Sarai was chosen. Consequently, Kafka's "Metamorphosis" was chosen as basis for the scenario of the path. The aim was not to follow a strict linear narration of the events but to transform the qualities and concepts underlined in the play into space, following a looser language of multiple meanings. It is achieved by the manipulation of certain spatial characteristics such as the engraving and the placing of the path, the ability of visual contact, the form and geometry of boundaries.

The final proposal is about a path with the shape of a labyrinth, common for all the participants in most of its part. It consists of four parts: encirclement, isolation, paradox and liberation. After the entrance we see the first section, a setting perceived as prison in which the sentiment of confinement, repetition and stagnation is dominant. In the second section, the common course is cut to pieces and becomes tight, making movement difficult, while oblong paths are "immersed" into ground and lead to the climax of the tension. In the "paradox", the element of "non-normal" is introduced. It is the element of geometry of the place, which contributes to the unity of the journeys and the exploration of new circumstances. Just before the exit, the twist is attempted, the "liberation" where during his/her ascent, the visitor has the supervision of the place and becomes familiar with the setting. The element of the journey's structure is the pebbles of penetrating concrete of proportions 50cm x 50cm which try, every time, to picture the differences of the qualities.