EU12 GAMES
Social Practices of Architecture and their Political Dimension
2022-2023
Tutor: Socrates Stratis
The EU 12 Game: The Counter-Push Part II, Nicosia (2022-2023)
The students designed floor and table board games to support the right to live in Nicosia’s old city centre and criticize the urban regeneration policies that caused the emerging gentrification process in the old city. “PUSH” refers to the eviction of local population from many city centres worldwide due to their transformation into global investment products. “PUSH” is the name of Frederik Gerten’s documentary. It outlines the mechanisms that gradually increase the values of land and rent and deprive city dwellers of the right to housing. The case of the old city of Nicosia is relevant.
ΕλΑ! Urban Game
Team: Charis Nika, Olivia Psara
The ΕλΑ! Urban Game is a strategic floor game. It explores power relations through its story and rules and encourages collabo ration. Through its design and placement, it attempts to intervene in public space and reclaim it in a fun, colourful and loud man ner. Through the presence and voices of the players, who shout things like ‘eviction’, ‘resistance’, ‘powers’, and ‘voices’, the game attempts to empower the players and to act as a form of protest and resistance in the public space that challenges the dominant use and narratives for that space. The ΕλΑ! Urban Game is designed to be played in the public space in front of the Phanerome ni School in the walled city of Nicosia, Cyprus. Still, it may be relevant in differ ent contexts, particularly in public spaces and cities where gentrification processes prevail. The game’s players are divided into two teams, the Powers and the Voices. The Powers are situated on the outer ring of the board, where the Voices are situated in the intermediate ring. The Powers aim to reach the centre of the board without being immobilized by the Voices. The Voices aim to stop the Powers before they reach the centre. There are more Voices than Powers, yet they are less powerful. Therefore, they have to collaborate to stop the Powers and win the game.
A Different Point of View
Team: Eleni Irakleous, Demetra Kalogerou, Irini Malliari
A Different Point of View is a board game that facilitates public debates among the urban actors at stake due to the ongo ing gentrification process in the old city of Nicosia. The game comments on the need for a productive dialogue between the urban actors who take decisions and the various groups of people who live in the city, voiceless. The urban policies and the citizens’ rights are documented in the game, turning it into an awareness device. The use of role-playing during the enacted discussions among the players encourages them to understand the different points of view. The board game provides the players with contested issues to debate that are depicted on cards. The game is facilitated by animators who document the discussion and the potential new outcomes to existing problems. A process of sociability takes place that empowers the voiceless through discursive practice.
War of Justice
Team: Eleni Alkiviadous, Marina Constantinou, Marinos Ioannou 148
The game aims to address spatial injustice caused by the gentrification process of Nicosia’s old city. The War of Justice game is a board role-playing where the authori ties and ordinary citizens experience urban transformation through a playful practice. Playing the game includes short Questions & Answers based on cards that depict facts and orders regarding the urban transforma tions in the old city (the blue cards). The players are divided into two teams where one player represents the System, and the rest of the players acting as a team repre sent the Player (2-4 people). The goal is for the Player to resist (by collecting more points) the imposing spatial injustice de picted in the facts and orders of the game cards. The Player and the System navigate across the city’s neighbourhoods by rolling specially designed dice. Player and System compete on the speed of answering ques tions by collecting points. The team that collects eleven points is the winner.
