ARCHITECTURE DAY CONFERENCE ON
landmARCH _ landmarks in architecture
This conference is a parallel activity of SESAM012 [Small European Students of Architecture Meeting for 2012]. The subject of SESAM is the theoretical investigation and the analysis of design issues with architectural, urban planning, landscaping and environmental interest. This year, students of the National Technical University of Athens, School of Architecture, are organizing a SESAM, from the 12th till the 20th of May 2012, and have suggested as an area of research the old town of Rhodes. The topic of this meeting is “Colossus vs LandmARCH”. This organization is part of the meetings of the EASA [European Architecture Students Assembly] network.
THEME OF THE CONFERENCE
What is a landmark? What conceptual features are embedded in it and how does this affects the design of urban space? What qualitative criteria make an architectural project a landmark?
Nowadays, the importance of the image is becoming more essential than anything else, the meaning of a landmark, the crucial point of reference for a site, has changed dramatically. We would like, for this reason, to focus on contemporary landmarks and try to identify and assess the reflections of architectural choices in different aspects of life. The aim of the conference is to explore the concept of landmark and identify the principles and the qualities to which a landmark should refer.
We are interested in the presentation of a personal vision beyond the descriptive interpretation of the participants. That which is able to represent the qualities of a contemporary landmark, capture small conceptual details and recognize changes that could be made in the design process.
DESCRIPTION OF THE GENERAL CONFERENCE PROGRAM
[A] PHOTO EXHIBITION
The first part of the conference is a photographic exhibition entitled landmARCH. We focus on the use of photography as a tool for creating strong conceptual works, all of which will form an important, critical documentation file.
Technical Specifications:
The photographs that will form the exhibition will be narrative landmark recordings, specifically formatted as a template which is available for all on SESAM012’s blog (http://sesam2012rhodes.blogspot.com).
All completed forms should be sent to the following e-mail address; sesamrhodes2012@gmail.com up until Sunday, 12th of February 2012, with the following requirements;
- File in a compressed format zip or. rar, with file name (first name _last name_title) which will contain the filled out A4 form, including the photo and the details of the participant. (The file may not exceed in size 20MB).
- The mail must also include the details of the participant, a contact phone number and the title of the project.
The completed forms should be in JPEG format.
Each participant can take part, with 1 or up to 5 completed forms.
The results of the exhibition will be published in a book and made available for sale, the proceeds of which will be used to cover in part, the expenses of the conference.
[B] VISUAL NARRATIVES
What do we mean by that? We refer to a different way of presenting the thoughts and the projects, short talks accompanied by a visual presentation in powerpoint format. 10 images x 20 seconds is the only limit on speeches - a restriction aimed at making simple, short, concise, accurate and humorus presentations.
Through the organization of this event, we aim to present different visual narratives that support a thesis, a reflection or a narrative on the issue of specific architectural landmark. Students and professors of architecture, architects and others, are invited to take a position on the radical change that has occurred in the idea of an architectural landmark in the contemporary, massive, postmodern era.
The participants are invited to send their personal details, a brief description of the project on which they will elaborate and the presentation files to the e-mail address sesamrhodes2012@gmail.com up until Sunday, 12th of February 2012.
[C] INSTALLATION
During the workshop, there will be an installation competition, in which students of architecture, art and design, as well as professional architects can take part. A prerequisite for participation is a project, which attempts to de related to the theme of landmARCH, and also related to the most important landmark in the local region according to the designer.
Proposals should be easily constructed. The construction will be completed by the authors, three days before the conference. The participants should send their project with full details (title, brief description that will not exceed 200 words, design drawings or construction plans, personal details of the participants) in the e-mail address sesamrhodes2012@gmail.com until Sunday, 12th of February 2012.
The choice of installation to be carried out will be made by members of the organizing commission of the conference SESAM012, with the assistance of professors from the School of Architecture of Athens N.T.U.A. Mr. G. Gyparakis and Mr. G. Grigoriadis, and the results will be announced in the conference’s blog http://sesam2012rhodes.blogspot.com.
[D] LECTURES
The conference will conclude with a series of architectural lectures from invited speakers. The main aim of these is the promotion of architecture and creativity, by encouraging clever research and presentation of information. In this case, surrounding the theme of the change of conceptual values of the modern landmark.
The full program of lectures will be posted on SESAM012’s blog http://sesam2012rhodes.blogspot.com
The event will end with the presentation of the conference SESAM012_Rhodes.
Organizing Committee:
CAMP Contemporary Art Meeting Point
