REFLECTIONS OF ARCHITECTURE AND TERRITORY BASED ON THE HOT SPRING’S COMPETITION IN NISYROS

During my stay in Sterna Residences and as a result of the publication of the “Hot spring’s Competition in Nisyros”, I’ve proposed a reflection on the drift of the contemporary architectonic projects, the own character of the territory and its people. All these ideas in relation of the buildings of “Loutra” in Nisyros.

Stressing the importance of a participatory process in the concretion and development of the project, the aim is to adapt these buildings to Nisyros’s territorial context, at an important moment of reconstruction of the architectural heritage of the whole of the island and whose development will be key in the next few years to mark the course of Nisyros. When we ask “To whom is this project aimed?”, Its scope, if we accept the premise of an economic development with a strong impact of tourism in it, is broader and leads us to “What kind of tourism do we want? And in relation with architecture, what strategies are necessary to avoid subordinating the development of Nisyros to private interests and preventing the establishment of a class tourism in the island?

In continuation with this idea of respecting the character of Nisyros, in the next phase of project design, the continuity of this idea of learning from the existing and the distinctive features is also valued; and that this is also reflected in the materiality of the building, against those who do not respect the techniques and traditional canons. All this, together with the character of the ruin, is now more visible than ever having left bare the skeleton of the building undressing the construction techniques and materials of Nisyros.