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“Exarchia Square is designed as an ‘urban room’ surrounded by vertical gardens. A scaffolding structure extends the public space in height, providing the infrastructure for the development of climbing plantings. The design adopts the logic of a theatre stage, where different viewing points surround a central viewing area.”
The work of DS stems from the challenges of the Greek cityscape and the qualities of the Mediterranean landscape. Design is enriched by research, teaching and curating. The studio’s identity oscillates between the urban and the natural, the local and the global, reality and fiction. DS aims to minimize form, use resources sustainably and create meaningful narratives.
“It is the time to ensure the right of every citizen to walk comfortably. Public space should be returned to pedestrians and cyclists with bold interventions such as extensive traffic calming and pedestrianisation. Public spaces should be planted more. Trees are the best weapon we have against climate change. Plants are not aesthetic elements, but tools for absorbing CO2 and reducing temperatures.”
“Humans walk among the crops, under the purple light of an endless greenhouse. They smell the scent of soybeans as fish swim in a transparent rooftop tank above them. They hear the high-pitched sounds of moving robot arms as automated machines print juicy steaks from blood-like liquids. This is the infrastructure that produces food for the human population of the mid-21st century.”
“No other art has influenced the way we perceive the city as much as the art of cinema. The power of the cinematic image creates powerful references which shape individual and collective identities. “
“The future never felt closer than it does today. A series of environmental, technological and societal changes happening at an accelerating pace are affecting today’s world and the human’s role within it. As the urban population continuously rises, the Earth resembles a city which keeps on sprawling outwards, a city expanding everywhere with no limitations. … As diverse images, once belonging to the future, become more and more part of the present, an urge to engage with a contradictory and multifaceted upcoming reality emerges.”
“During the 21st century, there are no remote locations. The planet has been explored and digitally mapped in every latitude and longitude. The media and social networks bring the public sphere in every corner of the world. …The indisputable dominance of the urban condition and the exploitation of the countryside, are shifting the quest for new heterotopic structures in the urban area.”
“The Greek participation in the 13th International Architecture Exhibition sought to highlight the positive forces that emerged in Athens during the crisis. It explored the links with Athens’ idiosyncratic urbanity, focusing on three themes: the city’s modern tradition through the development of the Athenian polykatoikia; the fragmentation of public space and disputes over its use; and the development of new architectural narratives for Athens.”
“Situated at the confluence of two streets in an inner-city neighbourhood. The eight-storey building is developed around a strong, square central core. An inventive combination of balconies and loggias around the perimeter of the core radically transforms the conventional character of the multi-storey apartment complex. The alternation of open balcony and semi-enclosed terrace not only contributes to the partial disclosure of the core, but also provides a greater sense of isolation and helps to create a particular rhythmic emphasis in the dense urban space.”
Dimitri Fatouros, Ίχνος χρόνου (Athens: Kastaniotis, 2008), pp.195-6.
“Exarchia Square is designed as an ‘urban room’ surrounded by vertical gardens. A scaffolding structure extends the public space at height, providing the infrastructure for the development of climbing plantings. The design adopts the logic of a theatre stage, where different viewing points surround a central viewing area.”
The work of DS stems from the challenges of the Greek cityscape and the qualities of the Mediterranean landscape. Design is enriched by research, teaching and curating. The studio’s identity oscillates between the urban and the natural, the local and the global, reality and fiction. DS aims to minimize form, use resources sustainably and create meaningful narratives.
“It is the time to ensure the right of every citizen to walk comfortably. Streets should be given back to pedestrians and cyclists. Trees are the best weapon we have against climate change. Plants are not aesthetic elements, but tools for absorbing CO2 and reducing temperatures.”
“No other art has influenced the way we perceive the city as much as the art of cinema. The power of the cinematic image creates powerful references which shape individual and collective identities.”
“The future never felt closer than it does today. A series of environmental, technological and societal changes happening at an accelerating pace are affecting today’s world and the human’s role within it. … As diverse images, once belonging to the future, become more and more part of the present, an urge to engage with a contradictory and multifaceted upcoming reality emerges.”
“Humans walk among the crops, under the purple light of an endless greenhouse. They smell the scent of soybeans as fish swim in a transparent rooftop tank above them. They hear the high-pitched sounds of moving robot arms as automated machines print juicy steaks from blood-like liquids. This is the infrastructure that produces food for the human population of the mid-21st century.”
“June 2050. Many people walk on the beach of Elliniko. After years, bathers can enjoy the waters of the Saronic Gulf again. The activation of the new automatic protection system has finally provided a solution to the problem of jellyfish. The great environmental crisis of 2030 led to a 3°C rise in sea temperature, threatening tourism with total destruction. But all this seems forgotten…”
“During the 21st century, there are no remote locations. The planet has been explored and digitally mapped in every latitude and longitude. The media and social networks bring the public sphere in every corner of the world. …The indisputable dominance of the urban condition and the exploitation of the countryside, are shifting the quest for new heterotopic structures in the urban area.”
“The Greek participation in the 13th International Architecture Exhibition sought to highlight the positive forces that emerged in Athens during the crisis. It explored the links with Athens’ idiosyncratic urbanity, focusing on three themes: the city’s modern tradition through the development of the Athenian polykatoikia; the fragmentation of public space and disputes over its use; and the development of new architectural narratives for Athens.”
“Situated at the confluence of two streets in an inner-city neighbourhood, the eight-storey building is developed around a strong, square central core. An inventive combination of balconies and loggias around the perimeter of the core radically transforms the conventional character of the multi-storey apartment complex. The alternation of open balcony and semi-enclosed terrace not only contributes to the partial disclosure of the core, but also provides a greater sense of isolation and helps to create a particular rhythmic emphasis in the dense urban space.”
Dimitri Fatouros, Ίχνος χρόνου (Athens: Kastaniotis, 2008), pp.195-6.