Kefalonia, as an outstanding island of immanent vibrations and background of a disastrous earthquake in 1953, has inevitably lost the surplus of its building stock on which the architectural traces of the historical past were impressed. Therefore, this little amount of remaining evidence, which totters scattered in the verdant area of the island, not only needs to be rescued from the erosive onslaught of time, but also to emerge as autonomous entities that can breathe life into themselves again, reviving at the same time the residential areas they form.
The subject of this thesis project deals with the design attempt of a cultural center of artistic creation, a sort of Fine Arts station, on the plot where the fragments of the pre-earthquake residence Valsamakis – Parthenis are located, stored in the protective grip of an old olive grove in Pessada’s village core. The famous painter lived there for a reasonable period of time creating a mural on the main entrance door, as well as numerous works inspired by the specific temperament of kefalonian landscape. Nowadays, in the courtyard of the residence, summer artistic events are organized annually by local government administration.
Since the deafening absence of facilities that can be used as potential artistic cradles is noticeable on the island, the greatest prepossession of this particular study is the production of architectural configurations and ensembles with an initial inspiration by the overall painting work of K. Parthenis, that contribute to the intensification of on-site collective creative activity, to the discreet highlighting of the pre-existing ruins as they emerge interwoven in the light of a renewed use, but also to the harmonious insertion of the above into the archetypal identity of the island’s landscape.
