ARCHITECTURE THIRST FOR MEDITERRANEITY

“Happy he who, like Ulysses, has made an adventurous voyage; and there is no such sea for adven-turous voyages as the Mediterranean - the inland sea which the ancients looked upon as so vast and so full of wonders”
Joseph Conrad

The MediterraNew Architectural Design Workshop is a project created and developed by the architects Giorgio Martino and Matteo Rigamonti.

This idea is dedicated to students of architectural and design faculties. The event will be divided in two different moments: the former during the winter 2014, the latter in the fall of the same year.The ideal is to interact actively with our rich Mediterranean heritage through an innovative approach that takes into account both architecture and economics while respecting the lifestyles of local com-munities.The workshop follows the line of the activity , promoted and guided since 2012 by the architects Giovanni Perotti, Giorgio Martino and Dimitris Pikionis, in order to promote the inclusion of the mona-stery of Panagia Chozoviotissa, on the island of Amorgos on the list of tentative UNESCO sites in Greece.The winter workshop embraces numerous multidisciplinary lectures (50 hours, in three weekends between March and April), about heterogeneous subjects. Different relators will take part in this project.The extraordinary location for the series of lectures will be Dance Haus (Via Tertulliano, 70 – Milano – www.dancehaus.it). Theory and practice will find the perfect fusion in the contributions of teachers while the students will be asked to formulate innovative ideas to revitalize their Mediterranean heri-tage. The seminars will give students useful tools to adopt new strategies of architectural synergism with the practices and operative modalities of archaeology, architecture, communication, graphic de-sign, economic sciences and other arts. Participants will in fact be required to produce a personal con-cept through sketches and diagrams on digital media.

This educational offering covers a vast but organic range of topics. The thematic areas of the workshop will be:
• Archaeology and Museography
• Cultures and Landscapes
• Architectural design and Urban planning
• Economics and Eco-Sustainability
• Arts and Media
• Graphics and Communications
The first two weekends will be dedicated to a focus on the common contents of the whole Mediterra-nean basin; the final weekend will concentrate on the island of Amorgos as a case study. The workshop will proceed in the same way. Participants will therefore be expected to understand the issues and to develop a replicable format for finding a new way to enhance the unique reality of Mediterranean culture .

The Winter workshop calendar:
• 14 March: Deadline for receiving CVs and for registration
• 15-16 March: First lecture weekend
• 29-30 March: Second lecture weekend
• 26-27 April: Third lecture weekend
 

The Fall Workshop will be more interactive. The stage of this session will be the magical island of Amorgos in the remote foothills of the Cyclades’ archipelago. In this fascinating area, the students, working in teams of 4, will face the interesting challenge of creating a revaluation project for this mi-crocosm. At the conclusion of the workshop, a competition (2014 Best Design Proposal Award) will be organized for the students. Innovative ideas for cultural sites on Amorgos will be examined by a special commission who will vote on the best project proposals. Participants will have to study more cases: some will be concerned with the ancient site of Asfontylitis and some will be focused on two other sites, chosen from a list available to the students.Common elements for the works/projects, will be the desire for the rebirth of Amorgos, adopting in-novative and sustainable strategies for its historical and environmental heritage, and in respect of the needs of its citizens. All projects will be donated to the island community and they will reinforce the Buffer Zone that UNESCO claims around the Panagia Chozoviotissa Monastery.

The Fall workshop calendar:
• 8 September: Deadline for receiving CVs and for registration
• 4 October: Workshop start on Amorgos
• 11 October: Public award ceremony
• 12 October: Departure from the island

MediterraNew would like to develop these workshops in the coming years in order to guarantee the continuity and the attention to the Mediterranean area's enhancement. A sensible awareness will in-crease the sense of identity as European inhabitants. Regarding this idea, the Italian politician Aldo Moro wrote, “Nobody can choose to be European or a Mediterranean citizen, because the whole of Europe is in the Mediterranean area”.

For more information consult the web site www.mediterranew.org

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