EU04 GAMES
Social Practices of Architecture and their Political Dimension
2010-2011
Tutor: Socrates Stratis
The EU 04 Game: (2010-2011)
In this generation of games the students were asked to use high school students as the building unit of the game. The games are about having students engaged in the city, but not by being the actual players but the basic unit of the game.
Transfuse
The game is designed based on the intense conflict character of the urban fabric of Kaimakli (Cyprus). It aims to reconfigure existing relationships between users in public spaces by transfusing ephemeral happenings and events. Kaimakli will be the platform of action for the game to be actualized.
Given that the area is located on the edge of the UN Buffer Zone, inhabitants after 1974 abandoned the surrounding environments. Consequently, low rents associated with the proximity of Kaimakli with the centre of Nicosia invited diverse groups of immigrants. However, when Greek-Cypriots started to re-inhabit the area, segregation between locals and immigrants had as a result the creation of several enclaves in space.
The game is developed through three main stages:
The first stage entails a first reading of Kaimakli, identifying the already shared spaces. These spaces are tanks of possible players. There are four different types of tanks: (1) schools, (2) borders outposts, (3) public spaces, and (4) privatized public spaces. Newspapers and in particular the section of classifieds is a crucial inspiring element for this reading that provides a better understanding of segregation in daily life.
The second stage involves four groups of students (English School, Nicosia): The first group elaborates on the first reading by examining players/users in each tank, and by investigating their relations with space and with other players. The second group follows these players and identifies hotspots to post classifieds. The third group creates and distributes a newspaper with appropriate classifieds about the events. The fourth group tries to cause curiosity with marks and graffiti in different locations.
The final stage is the realization of events. Classifieds written by the students target volunteers or people who need job to help and participate to the event.
Team: Savvia Palate, Ch. Constantinou
Unexpected Negotiation
Team: Nicolaou Niki, Elena Pilavaki, Giorgos Tryfonos
Urban Chef
Team: Andrea Verni, Georgia Mazeri, Alexandra Charalambidou
Two of the most influential situations that have created boundaries [physical, mental] within the current population of Cyprus, the Cyprus dispute and the increasing Immigrants phenomenon, are investigated through an Urban Game. The City under observation, widows a unifying means and physical space for new forms of Collectivity/Sharing to derive amongst the directly affected groups [Greek-Cypriots, Turkish-Cypriots, Immigrants] and for new Polarities to rise and ephemerally activate the city’s historic fabric. This synergy Game, with the creation of an “ideal recipe”, through a series of directions, activities and processes aims to a gradual interaction between the participants and at the same time between the participants and the city itself as a historic, experiential platform. The old fabric of Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus, an area which reflects the country’s society and specific situations -due to the strong presence of the dividing Buffer Zone and due to the increased number of immigrants that reside and access the area because of the cheap living costs- is chosen as a real-life game-board.
The game is developed in two phases/steps. In the first phase, students are invited to trace the given urban landscape with the use of adjusted for the game maps, so as to familiarise with the city and to choose a number of mapped, urban voids [open, closed, elevated, lowered] for a set of activities to take place [creativity, work-out, enjoyment/relaxation]. Simultaneously, the social network: “Facebook” is utilized as the means by which the participants are selected and divided into sub_ groups. During the second phase, all players begin from a corresponding starting point [depending on each player’s sub_group] under the guidance of students and, adjusted for each group, maps. Step by step with the completion of all challenges given, the players come closer to the finish point. At this point, the “ideal recipe” is considered complete with the mixing of the necessary ingredients [students, participant, urban voids, activities, maps and architectural students] at the game’s highlight: a celebration that takes place in an elevated, central location within a real-life city board…
