Effrosyni Chatzisavva

Inspired by a reading of the archetype of the portico as a performative space, the proposal reinterprets the costume making school as an urban project. From the examples of the National Theatre in London and the Cirque du Soleil in Montreal the research understands costume making as a collective process that has the potential to break out of hidden specialised spaces to be an active part of the city life. In fact, despite the specificity of tools, knowledge and craftsmanship, costume making involves a variety of performative activity, from theatre to fashion design, from circus to carnival, from music to popular festivities of any kind.

The project uses as a test ground the city centre of Athens, an area that has been heavily affected by the crisis of 2009 and it’s struggling to overcome its economic and urban consequences: social degradation and abandoned buildings mark today an area that used to be the epicentre of Athenian economic and cultural life few decades before.

In particular the project addresses the area of Metaxourgeio, with its rich history of theatre and silk fabrication –which also gave the name and the industrial physiognomy to the neighbourhood. The presence of the National Theatre and many other venues are the departing point for a series of intervention that could foster new urban rituals for the area and start a process of regeneration for the entire city.

The design strategy uses the archetype of the portico to give an aesthetic and functional unity to the street, binding together the fragmented sequence of ‘polykatoikias’ and neo-classical buildings. The portico provides rhythm and shade to the street, but it also opens the potential for the re-appropriation of abandoned buildings and empty plots along the avenue: the clear and open metal structure, emphasised by the bright red colour in contrast with the grey Athenian cement, opportunistically extends from the street into the blocks, generating a sequence of architectural interventions.

Inspired by the mechanical structures of the back of house, the project exposes those aspects of the theatrical machine that are usually hidden from the public, turning the construction of the show into the actual spectacle. Hosting the school of costume making but also spaces for concerts, archives, exhibitions and open terraces, the entire street becomes a stage for productive performances where everyone is asked to perform and assist to the spectacle of everyday life.