The Thessaloniki Contemporary Art Biennale is held in various places- mostly of monumental or exhibition nature- dispersed within the historic center of the city. The central idea of this proposal is based on two main principles, which are in a state of constant interaction, the spatial transfer and the identity of the facility. The spatial transfer combines a desire to step away of the city center with the simultaneous manifestation of introversion emerging on the one hand from the accumulation of multiple activities in a single place and on the other hand from the main way of communication of the entire operation via a navigable route. As for the matter of identity, this is indicated by the transfer of the simultaneous program of the Biennale to the new setting in the form of renting certain places of the building establishment to the each time participating galleries. The organizers of the Biennale will exploit the remaining spaces by hosting permanent or alternating exhibitions so that the facility remains a visiting site during the whole time until the beginning of the next exhibition.
The intervention is developed along four axes which come about on the one hand from an attempt of reading (comprehending) the lines of the scenery and on the other hand from the four directions which correspond, in approximation, to the four points of the horizon. The intersection point is of crucial importance as it distributes the divided movement to the axis. Moreover, the designed routes along the axes transfer us from function to function and as a result each time we return to the point of reference we have toured to all the functions of the certain axis.
The choice of the material isn’t based on chance but on the respect of the natural scenery. The construction doesn’t reveal its metal inner structure as with the continuous wooden covering it gives the impression of one wooden jumble of mass. In certain spots only, there are glass surfaces and some walls made of reinforced concrete, which appear in the form of towers and correspond to the elevators.