In recent decades, architecture has been systematically scrutinized for its role in establishing dominant models of development that reinforce social hierarchies and inequalities. The consequences of these models are increasingly evident in the effects of climate change, which are asymmetrically borne by the most vulnerable populations at both global and local levels. At the same time, a range of theoretical approaches seeks to explore how architecture might cultivate alternative models of design, construction, and spatial production—not only to challenge ongoing forms of exploitation, but also to foster architectures that “care” for both people and the environment, addressing 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. 

Cohabiting in the Garden: 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 practices of collective living and cultivating in Volos. 

Knowledge, Comprehension, Synthesis

The course approaches “architectures of care” through the combination of theoretical perspectives and design tools. It draws on the experiential and hands-on culture of architectural design studios in order to sharpen critical thinking as well as individual and collective skills through collaboration and dialogue.

By the end of the course, students are expected to:

• Become familiar with contemporary and innovative interdisciplinary theoretical approaches in the field of architectural theory and practice, and understand their significance for architectural education.

• Experiment with different research methods (e.g., literature review, field observations, online research, and writing) in combination with design tools that are used both analytically (diagrams, mappings, etc.) and as means for developing and representing spatial arrangements, architectural forms, and materialities.

• Understand the social and ecological dimensions of architectural design and explore practices of building reuse as well as alternative models of design, construction, and economy.

• Recognize the importance of dialogue between theory and design, as well as between the academic environment and social reality.

• Develop communication skills through collaboration and dialogue within the course, as well as through engagement with invited speakers and representatives of institutions and social groups during scheduled visits.

• Understand the role of theoretical thinking in the broader education of the architect, as well as the responsibilities of the profession in relation to the social inequalities and environmental crises of our time.

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.

Chatzidakis, A., Hakim, J., Litter, J., and Rottenberg, C. 2022. Το Mανιφέστο της Φροντίδας: Η Πολιτική της Αλληλεξάρτησης. Θεσσαλονίκη: Ρόπη. 

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/ 

Gavaldà Marc and Claudio Cattaneo, 2022. “Feeding Together, The Revolution Starts in the Kitchen.” In: Stavrides, S. and P. Travlou P (eds.). Housing as Commons: Housing Alternatives as Response to the Current Urban Crisis, 95-111, London: Bloomsbury Publishing. 

Piniara, Ioanna. 2025. “Towards an Ecology of the Private: A Manual for the Trigono Community Land Trust in Athens.” In: We Have Never Been Private: The Housing Project in Neoliberal Europe. 128-232. Barcelona: Actar. 

Petrescu, Doina. 2017. “Being-in-relation and Reinventing Commons.” In: Schalk, M., Kristiansson, T., and Mazé Ramia, Feminist Futures of Spatial Practice: Materialisms, Activisms, Dialogues, Pedagogies, Projectionsm, 101-109. Bamberg: Spurbuchverlag/AADR.  

Stavrides. S. 2016. "Housing and Urban Commoning." In: Common Space: The City as Commons, 95-129. London: Zed Books.  

FEMINIST PERSPECTIVES 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, collective housing, urban farming, gardening, urban practices

https://eclass.uth.gr/courses/ARCH_U_266/