Collective Inhabitation Models: Architectures of CareIn recent decades, architecture has been systematically scrutinized for its role in the establishment of dominant models of development that not only reinforce social hierarchies and inequalities but whose effects are daily visible in climate change as they are asymmetrically distributed to the most vulnerable populations at global and local levels. At the same time a range of theoretical approaches seek ways in which architecture can cultivate alternative patterns of design, construction and production of space. Not only to challenge ongoing forms of exploitation but also to cultivate architectures that 'care' for people and the environment in a direction that addresses the ecological crises of our time.
The expanded definition of "care"
The concept of care has traditionally been associated with services provided under state welfare policies (e.g. hospitals, old people's homes, nurseries) or with care practices within the family which have been identified mainly with unpaid female domestic work or, more recently, with cheap, often informal, migrant labour. The issue of care has been raised by feminist movements since the 1970s. But it has returned dynamically to the debate more recently--in Greece as well--in the context of studying globalization and migration and the social/economic changes brought about by the restriction of welfare policies, the generalization of precarious working conditions by neoliberal policies to manage the recent economic crisis (Vaiou 2013).
Going beyond the conventional understanding of the term, the course adopts the expanded definition attributed to the concept of care by contemporary feminist approaches as encapsulated in the quote below from Berenice Fisher and Joan Tronto:
“On the most general level, we suggest that caring be viewed as a species activity that includes everything we do to maintain, continue, and repair our ‘world’ so that we can live in it as well as possible. That world includes our bodies, our selves, and our environment, all of which we seek to interweave in a complex, life-sustaining web.” (“Toward a Feminist Theory of Caring,” 1990)
We are also inspired by approaches that expand this definition to include forms of care that are not a privilege exclusive to humans but also extend to other than human actors. (Puig de La Bellacasa 2017)
The course draws further on recent elaborations of the concept of care in the field of architectural theory as part of the search for an alternative ethical/political attitude towards the social and ecological challenges of the contemporary era. The role of architecture and design is revisited and situated at the intersection of alternative practices of care, economy, ecology, and labor (Fitz and Krasny 2019). Αrchitecture’s potential contribution to the enhancement of collective actions, networks of solidarity and mutual aid, the management of commons, and spatial policies with goals for social and environmental justice towards and beyond humans.
Collective Inhabitation Models: Architectures of Care
Contemporary theoretical approaches to "care" will serve as the primary inspiration for the theoretical and design experiments undertaken in this course, aiming to develop models of collective housing in the area of Nea Ionia, Volos. By linking "care" with collective housing, the course will explore two main directions:
a) Care and the Housing Crisis: In dialogue with ongoing educational and research programs, we seek to place the architectures of "care" at the center of the search for solutions to housing crises. The goal is to shape "realistic alternatives for access to affordable and quality housing based on self-organization, democracy, care, and environmental responsibility" (Cohab 2023).
/// A bibliographic study, online resources, and guest lectures will highlight the critical role of housing as a catalyst for transforming social relationships and, potentially, challenging structural, class, gender, and other inequalities. At the same time, they will provide a wealth of methodological approaches, examples, images, and representations that will enrich both the theoretical framework of the course and the development of student projects.
b) Nea Ionia as case study: Taking Nea Ionia in Volos as an example, we will reflect on and draw inspiration from historical and contemporary "care" practices that have developed in a refugee settlement. These practices emerged from shared experiences of displacement, spatial and social marginalization, the formation of a common "refugee" identity and memory, state-provided housing, the sharing of common infrastructure and spaces, and grassroots struggles for dignified living conditions. Additionally, we will explore bottom-up practices of mutual support, repair, expansion, and maintenance that have shaped the everyday world of Nea Ionia.
/// Fieldwork, mapping, documentation of buildings and spaces, and engagement with residents and the local community will contribute to identifying historical and contemporary "care" practices in Nea Ionia. This process will support their activation, reinforcement, and enrichment in the present day
Fitz, A., Krasny, E. and Architekturzentrum Wien (eds.), 2019. Critical Care: Architecture and Urbanism for a Broken Planet, Vienna: Architekturzentrum Wien; Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. (eclass)
Chatzidakis, A., Hakim, J., Litter, J., and Rottenberg, C. 2022. Το Mανιφέστο της Φροντίδας: Η Πολιτική της Αλληλεξάρτησης.Θεσσαλονίκη: Ρόπη. (eclass)
Cohab, 2023. Κείμενο Εργασίας 1: Διερευνώντας τη Συνεργατική Κατοικία στην Ελλάδα. Θεσσαλονίκη: Ίδρυμα Χάινριχ Μπελ Ελλάδας. Προσβάσιμο εδώ: https://gr.boell.org/sites/default/files/2023-06/diereynontas-ti-synergatiki-katoikia-stin-ellada.pdf
*Και διαδικτυακά: https://cohabathens.org/cohab_toolkit/
FEMINIST PERSPECTIVS ON CARE
Βαΐου, Ν. 2013 Δια-εθνικές Καθημερινότητες στην Πόλη: Επανεξετάζοντας Έμφυλες Σχέσεις και Πρακτικές Φροντίδας στις Γειτονιές της Αθήνας. Επιθεώρηση Κοινωνικών Ερευνών. Τομ. 140. 140-141), 71-86. https://doi.org/10.12681/grsr.57
Puig de La Bellacasa, M. 2017. Matters of Care: Speculative Ethics in More than Human Worlds. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
CARE, REPAIR & NON-EXTRACTIVE ARCHITECTURES
Material Culture. 2022. Material Reform: Building for a Post-Carbon Future. First ed. London: MACK.
Dzierżawska, Z., & Malterre-Barthes, C. 2022. Graphic Novel: A Global Moratorium on New Construction, Architectural Review. Ανάκτηση 21 Φεβρουαρίου 2022, https://www.architectural-review.com/essays/graphic-novel-a-global-moratorium-on-new-construction
Graham S. and Thrift N. 2007. Out of Order: Understanding Repair and Maintenance. Theory, Culture & Society 24(1): 1–25.
Mattern, S. 2024. “Step by Step: Step by Step: Thinking Through and Beyond the Repair Manual.” Places Journal. Accessed 17 Mar 2024. https://placesjournal.org/article/step-by-step-repair-manuals-political-ecology/
Mattern, S. 2018. “Maintenance and Care,” Places Journal, November 2018. Accessed 17 Mar 2024. https://doi.org/10.22269/181120
Space Caviar (ed.) Non Extractive-Architecture: On Designing without Depletion, London: Sternberg Press.
SOCIAL AND COOPERATIVE HOUSING
Καψάλη Μ., και Πέττας, Δημήτρης Πέττας. 2022, Έμφυλες Διαστάσεις της (Συνεταιριστικής) Κατοικίας. Διαθέσιμο στο: https://gr.boell.org/el/2022/09/30/emfyles-diastaseis-tis-synetairistikis-katoikias
Places of Togetherness 2024. Διαθέσιμο στο: www.placesoftogetherness.com
Σιατίτσα Δ., και Καραγιάννη Μαρία. 2022. Είναι Εφικτή η Συνεταιριστική Κατοικία στην Ελλάδα; Διαθέσιμο στο: https://gr.boell.org/el/2022/09/29/einai-efikti-i-synetairistiki-katoikia-stin-ellada
Stavros, S., and Travlou P. 2022. Revisiting the Housing Question: The Potentialities of Urban Commoning. In: Stavros, S., and Travlou P. (eds.). Housing as Commons: Housing Alternatives as Response to the Current Urban Crisis, 1-19. London: Bloomsbury Academic.
Σταυρίδης, Στ. 2018. Κοινός Χώρος: Η Πόλη ως Τόπος των Κοινών: Aθήνα: Angelus Novus. (Κεφάλαια: Ετεροτοπίες που Πλάθονται από Κοινού: Μαθαίνοντας από την Ιστορία ενός Συγκροτήματος Κοινωνικής Κατοικίας στην Αθήνα & Στέγαση και Πρακτικές Μοιράσματος στην Πόλη)
ARCHITECTURAL AND URBAN HISTORIES OF NEA IONIA
100 Memories: https://100memories.gr/volos/?lang=en
Antoniou, A. 2019. Institutional Housing Policies and Habitation Practices of the Refugees Arriving in Volos, Greece, in 1922. The Urban Transcripts Journal 2, (2). https://journal.urbantranscripts.org/article/institutional-housing-policies-and-habitation-practices-of-the-refugees-arriving-in-volos-greece-in-1922-antonis-antoniou/
Hastaoglou-Martinidis, V. 2023. Volos in the Network of Mediterranean Cities: Comparative Mapping of the City’s Spatial Evolution Through the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. In: Özveren, E., Yenişehirlioğlu, F., Selvi Ünlü, T. (eds) Mediterranean Port Cities. Cities, Heritage and Transformation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32326-3_7
Χαστάογλου, Β. 2007. Βόλος, το Πορτραίτο μιας Πόλης από το 19ο αιώνα έως Σήμερα. Βόλος: Δημοτικό Κέντρο Ιστορίας και Τεκμηρίωσης Βόλου. (ειδικά IV.1 Η Εγκατάσταση των Προσφυγών Και Το Προάστιο Της Νέας Ιώνιας, σελ. 78-80)
Καραστεργίου, Μ. 2016. Εδώ στο Βόλο οι Πρόσφυγες Φέραν το Ποδόσφαιρο. Το γήπεδο της Νίκης ως Τόπος Μνήμης, Ταυτότητας και Ιστορίας των Προσφύγων της Νέας Ιωνίας. Στο: Μπούσχοτεν Ρ. Β., Βερβενιώτη Τ., Λαμπροπούλου Δ., Μούλιου, Μ., Χαντζαρούλα, Π. (επιμ,) Η Μνήμη Αφηγείται την Πόλη, Αθήνα: Πλέθρον, σελ. 107-124.
Ερευνητικά Θέματα ΤΑΜ ΠΘ
Ρηγάκη, Ε., 2016. Το Αρχιτεκτονικό Παζλ της Ν.Ιωνίας. Αλλοιώσεις και Προσθήκες των Προσφυγικών στην Πάροδο του Χρόνου. Επίβλεψη: Κ. Μανωλίδης. Ερευνητικό Θέμα, Τμήμα Αρχιτεκτόνων Μηχανικών Πανεπιστήμιο Θεσσαλίας.
Φουντούλη Ε. 2011. Τα Προσφυγικά της Νέας Ιωνίας Βόλου. Η Ιστορική και Οικιστική Διαδρομή. Από την Προσφυγούπολη του 1922 στη Σύγχρονη Πόλη του 2011. Επίβλεψη: Κ. Αδαμάκης. Ερευνητικό Θέμα,Τμήμα Αρχιτεκτόνων Μηχανικών Πανεπιστήμιο Θεσσαλίας.
Ψαρράκη, Μ. 2010. Ο Προσφυγικός Οικισμός της Νέας Ιωνίας Μαγνησίας: Κατοικία και Μνήμη. Επίβλεψη: Μ. Παπαδημητρίου, Ερευνητικό Θέμα, Τμήμα Αρχιτεκτόνων Μηχανικών Πανεπιστήμιο Θεσσαλίας.
Αρχεία και Συλλογές
Αρχείο οπτικοασκουστικών μαρτυριών - Εργαστήριο Ιστορίας (ΙΑΚΑ ΠΘ)
Ομάδα Προφορικής Ιστορίας Βόλου – ΟΠΙΒΟ
Δημοτικό Κέντρο Ιστορίας και Τεκμηρίωσης Βόλου – Δήμος Βόλου
care, architectures of care, cooperative housing, collective housing, urban practices