Kyriacos Christofides

About

Kyriacos studied architecture at the Royal College of Art (MA, 2020) and University of Bath (BSc, 2018). He originates from Cyprus, where he often draws inspiration for his research projects. He sees architecture as a mediation body amongst other agents. More specifically, the interdisciplinary relations of architecture with ethnographic studies within the geo-political and socio-cultural context. He uses digital tools that allow him to experiment with non-physical environments and re-create atmospheres that emphasize spatial relations. 

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Degree Details

Statement

His design methodology questions whether the design of digital environments be instrumental in re-producing modes of inhabitation; and how can architecture as a discipline and architectural representation as a practice be utilised in this reproduction?

My Sentimental Monumentality

News feed from 1974 — A Cypriot coup d’état on the 15th of July 1974 initiated the Turkish invasion in the island which lasted 3 days. The videos show a month long daily-report starting from the day of the invasion up until the establishment of the ceasefire line which became UN’s Buffer Zone, commonly known as green line. On the last day the newly introduced map of the island was broadcasted for the first time, in colour.
The procession of 1989 — In March of 1989, a female activist group from both communities, along with figures from the international political scene, started a procession through the village, being escorted by the UN. This has been the only recorded breaching of the border up to date. The walk towards the church Agia Marina was followed by a series of peaceful demonstrations outside. Climaxed, shortly after by a collective chanting of an Orthodox hymn within the church and the mobilization of their bodies as an act of breaching the human chain formed by the soldiers. On their departure, members of the movement collected objects from the church which they displaced on their way out of the village.
Objects in disposition — The main venue of the Old Cinema, as this sits within the digital environment, is experienced from the existing walking platform that is in the forest where objects float around in the digital world, detached from the laws of gravity, the objects are constantly in transit to extrapolate the key theme of the research.
Living room of displaced family — Home is where you belong, and the new domestic environment triggered this very sense of belonging through objects. Acting either as metonymies or metaphors of their past space, such objects are found still today in the living rooms, where they are statically decorated forming an almost museum-like setting that challenge us to rethinking how we interact with them. The example shows a 3D scan of such space as it stands today in the new settlement.
Domestic forum — Through the platform the users can penetrate the walls of the house since this zone is a reference to a different time. The paradoxical temporality of the new settlement, as this was formed in the first days, is reflected on the blurriness of the envelope. The walls are live screens of the same panoramic video, which is then experienced in detail in the centre of the replicated living room.
Guided by the hymn — The platform is an answer but also a question to modes of habitation. It emphasises on the things that we associate ourselves with , when occupying a space. Our embodied history, memories and rituals. But also acts as a testing ground to question “Is this enough?”. Since the proposal is empirical then the answer is subjective and personal to the users. As the walk progresses, the users are guided to a central point by the sound of hymn, a recording of the original hymn of 1989 on loop, and they arrive in the heart of the cloud where the church is diluted. It ’s physical absence leaves the community as a collection of bodies and sounds in the heart of the forest whose presence triggers a circle of audio-reactive objects that float above. These resonate the flames of the candles they habitually light up when they visit a holy space.
Displaced objects
Displaced objects — This phenomenon of accumulating objects started as an initiative during the first days of the invasion. The collection consists of several objects that have been dislocated from Achna. This was done by a middle-aged male, fluent in English at the time, who was able to communicate with soldiers from the nearby British military base and spy on forthcoming Turkish patrols. An important part of this collection is the key of the church, which was given by the priest serving Agia Marina, to a neighbor female responsible for the church’s administration.
Platform overview
Platform overview — The proposal aims to protect the practice of living rather than the space of it. The shift of church from religious to state institution, the territorial and marine claims of conflicting governments and the personification of objects all influence a collective way of experiencing the space that is amplified in the case of Achna. And this is because this experience is daily, habitual and almost domesticated. The daily interaction with the physical border and the relatively close proximity of the spaces are highlighted within the environment of the platform, where things appear temporary and susceptible as the walk progresses.
Platform plan
Platform plan — The users of the platform are not limited to the community but open to the public, hence the occupation of the public forest. The platform is themed according to research material that is encouraged to be experienced freely within and between the physical and digital environments.
Domestic Forum still image
Domestic Forum still image — Through the platform the users can penetrate the walls of the house since this zone is a reference to a different time. The paradoxical temporality of the new settlement, as this was formed in the first days, is reflected on the blurriness of the envelope. The walls are live screens of the same panoramic video, which is then experienced in detail in the centre of the replicated living room.
Land Ownership Title of Turkish-held Immovable Property
Land Ownership Title of Turkish-held Immovable Property — In the last 4 decades, the Department of Land and Surveys started the documentation of disputed property ownership after the invasion. The resultant 20% overlap shows properties entitled to multiple owners or ( as the example shows) domestic properties registered as part of Turkish military bases. The example also shows its current property value, reflected as zero due to the outstanding evaluation after the invasion.
3D LiDAR Scan of Church
3D LiDAR Scan of Church — After the 2003 opening of the barricades, orthodox churches in the northern Cyprus have been serviced sporadically, always after a collective initiative of the displaced community. In the case of Achna this was never possible due to its occupation state. In spite that, the community was gathered after 1974 in two other churches which are in a 2 km distance from the occupied settlement.

This project investigates habitation and its relationship to objects - wherein objects are viewed as social incubators. Achna, an abandoned village within the Turkish held territory of Cyprus, is seen within its wider boundary relations both horizontally and vertically within the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. The project proposes a digital platform in the form of a virtual reality walk. This takes place within the space of a physical forest. The forest sits in the heart of the new settlement of Achna and has been the first point where the displaced community settled temporarily after 1974.
The walk through the platform is seen as a re-enactment of an activist procession into Achna, which took place in the year 1989, becoming the only recorded official breach of the border. The users therefore inhabit the space of Achna, where multisensory triggers activate memories as they take place simultaneously both in the digital platform and the physical space of the forest.
The motive of the project is the protection of the practice of living, as opposed to the space of it.

Design Question:
The project questions the ways by which we inhabit space through digital mediums. Can the design of a digital environment be instrumental in re-producing modes of inhabitation? And how can architecture as a discipline and architectural representation as a practice be utilised in this reproduction?

Design principles:
The curation of a digital environment gave an opportunity to develop spaces of specific scenarios that use gaming tools to frame spatial relations, ultimately proposing certain claims around ownership and occupation of the physical space. Through the digital platform, time, materiality and form are manipulated to achieve these objectives.
The design decisions for the architecture, materiality, composition and lighting have been made in careful consideration to frame certain spatial relations. Time and duration are represented with the aid of three suns within the digital space, directly reflecting the duration of the 1974 events. The shadows appear with the tones of the sunset, when religious services occur. This links back to the re-enactment of the procession and its climax within the church of Achna.
The digital replicas reflect the scale and proximities of the physical world as you enter the platform. As one walks deeper into the forest, the form of the buildings are distorted and gradually disobey rules of gravity. At the end of the walk, the church of Achna is recreated as a digital point cloud, fading into thin air as you approach it. This therefore aims to critique our memory of and relationship with the physical world, whilst questioning weather we could meaningfully occupy the space of Achna without physically being part of it.

Medium: videos, images

Size: 06:42, varied sizes