Πρόσφατα υπήρξε επικοινωνία με τους συναδέλφους εξ Ελβετίας. Απέστειλαν mail σε όλους μας, καθώς έχουν το mailing list. Παραθέτω το περιεχόμενο του mail σε περίπτωση που κάποιοι δεν το έλαβαν.
Το studio στο Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne οργανώνεται σε θεματικές ενότητες: "Οικονομία", "Μετανάστευση", "Περιβάλλον", "Αρχαιολογία" κλπ. Ο Jacob και τα υπόλοιπα 6 άτομα της ερευνητικής του ομάδας (οι αποστολείς του mail), εστιάζουν στη θεματική ενότητα "Αρχαιολογία". Προσπαθούν να κατανοήσουν τη σχέση των Αθηναίων με την πολιτιστική τους κληρονομιά. Θέλουν, επίσης, να μάθουν πώς οι Αθηναίοι αντιλαμβάνονται τους αρχαιολογικούς χώρους, και πώς σχετίζονται με το παρελθόν της πόλης τους.
Μας καλούν λοιπόν να απαντήσουμε σε ένα ερωτηματολόγιο, με την ιδιότητα του κατοίκου της Αθήνας. Αυτό περιλαμβάνει 8 ερωτήματα, τα οποία είναι:
1_ Taking in consideration the (academic) importance of the archaeological sites in Athens; how do you relate to it? What do they mean to you?
2_ Do you think, it is important to presevere the ancient remains?
3_ Do you think that the archaeological sites “belong” to the Athenians?
Do you like going to archeological sites? Can you “use” the sites the way you want? Are they easily accessible? Do tourists over-crowd them?
4_ The archeological remains occupy a major part of the green space of the city center. Do you think these spaces should be used in another way?
5_ How to you perceive the Archaeological sites in every days live? Do the ancient sites integrate in the urban fabric or are they rather landmarks?
6_ What do you think about the less iconic archeological expositions? For instance the archeological expositions in the Metro stations or the site at the Kotzia Square.
7_ Is the preservation of the historical sites and archaeology a subject, treated in the medias (newspaper / television)?
8_ Is the ancient heritage and the historic sites a part of the peoples education? How important is your knowledge concerning the archeological sites in Athens?
Για να ξεκινήσει μια πλουραλιστική συζήτηση, θα συνιστούσα -σε όποιον θέλει- να δημοσιέυσει ως comment τις απαντήσεις του. Αξίζει να μοιραστούμε τις σκέψεις μας πάνω σε ένα τόσο ευαίσθητο θέμα.
3 comments:
1. i believe that the sites are of global importance, no more no less for the inhabitants of greece. if you are asking if we relate to them in a way as "places of our fathers" i think not. not only because athens did not have a linear life from that times to now, so that even the most original athenians, have only 6-8 generations of athenian ancestors, but also because the ancient athens is i think detached from the modern one, and only space-wise parallel.
2. i think that we should preserve important remains, and not all ancient findings. due to the vast sites, practically the south -at least- town center is built upon the ancient city, i believe that its impossible to preserve -and also excavate- everything. and also not all of the findings will be of some importance. though important archeological sites should be preserved.
3.i believe that these sites, as acropolis is regarded, are sites of global archeological heritage. tourist mostly crowd the most known such as acropolis. other sites are not so popular among tourists - at least the majority of them. it is widely known that a great percentage of the athenians have never visited acropolis let alone other sites. i think that this could be cured, if there was an organized stroll network linking these sites, also integrated in the contemporary movements in the city. at the moment ancient sites operate almost self-appointed and disconnected.
4. some ancient sites offer green spaces, such as the "agora" and "thisio" which were planted, through a landscape design in the 50s i think. other sites are neglected in archeological and design related terms. if athens was to invest upon these such large surfaces sprawled along the city, a modern, almost avant garde approach of sight seeing could be proposed. athens is the area of the majority of archeological interest in europe, and should lead the way of the theory of sight seeing in the modern era.
5. no they dont. they are mostly fenced, and neglected in the city network. only acropolis takes part in a passive way, on the athenian skyline.
6. i believe that it's a good practice to expose segments of the ancient city wherever this is possible, whatever their importance. in the building industry archeological findings on a building site is a curse. all the "ways" of not finding remains are employed, because if the opposite happens, whatever the importance of the remains, the construction will be delayed due to multidimensional bureaucracy.
7. every now and then
8. i think that a non architecture educated person, is offered a limited knowledge, mostly gathered in the first stages of public education. though, this knowledge becomes obsolete. i believe that this education is important not because we live in this country, but because it's generally important on a global scale.
hope i helped
1_ They are fragments of a global cultural heritage. For me, they represent mankind’s grandeur and highlight the importance of having vision in order achieve high goals. However, I often overlook their importance since they are integral parts of the city I grew up in.
2_ The preservation of the ancient remains is a very important duty of us Athenians, towards humanity. There is a lot to be learned by our history and its remains.
3_ The sites belong to humanity as a whole. We have the duty to preserve and restore them, since they are situated in our city. I enjoy going to archaeological sites, although I can’t “use” them the way I would want to. Most of the time they remain closed to the public, locked behind bars. Access is difficult, especially for people with disabilities. The flow of tourists is usually regular and it doesn’t cause any disfunction.
4_ Athens needs to “breathe”; green spaces in our city are limited, and the creation of new ones usually requires demolition. The archaeological sites could open, allowing Athenians to enjoy them all day long. Their careful integration to the contemporary urban web, could be a major opportunity to raise the quality of life in Athens.
5_ They mainly function as landmarks, disconnected from the city life. The city can only be relieved, if it reestablishes a connection with its archaeological sites.
6_ They are equally important parts of history. They usually shed light on everyday living conditions of the past. Their smaller archaeological significance doesn’t lessen the number of messages they convey.
7_ Unfortunately the greek media rarely discuss these important subjects. The opening of the New Acropolis Museum was a glamorous and widely broadcast event, but the degradation of the archaeological sites is regularly overlooked.
8_ The greek educational system is fragmentary, inefficient and disorganized. Therefore it doesn’t provide young people with comprehensive knowledge on our ancient heritage. My personal knowledge has come from my own research. The complexity of greek history makes it impossible to have a complete understanding of it without personal effort.
Dear Jakob and fellow swiss students,
ever since we were born in this country (Greece), we have been brought up, listening how important our ancient heritage is, how Greeks invented nearly everything in this world(?) and how important WE are due to the history of the place we live in.
On the other hand only few Athenians truly relate to their archaeological past, have critically questioned their history, and finally made the archaeological sites of Athens part of their everyday life.
This of course is a pretty complex matter, as political, educational, social and other parameters form it. But as far as we (architects) are concerned it is also a matter of design and planning.
In the past few years there have been a few interesting designs that question and re-answer the relation between ancient and contemporary. For example the Philopappos walk near Acropolis by architect Dimitris Pikionis (which I enjoy allot myself), the new building of the National Bank of Greece in Kotzia Square by Mario Botta, the New Acropolis Museum by Bernard Tschumi.
At the same time, many contemporary Greek architects feel overshadowed by our ancient heritage, and feel that sometimes our present and future will never surpass our past...
I hope that was helpful!
Looking foreward to hearing from you!
Best regards,
Theoklitos
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