LOCUS X TALES: An eco archive for future Nicosia through animation of time

Abstract

Adrian Parr said: ‘Culture is an utopian praxis, but not in the sense that it creates an imaginary ideal; rather it exposes, develops and abstracts the potential and concrete specificity of our present circumstances all with a look to creating a future that is critically different from what currently is and has been’’. The project envisions a series of fictional narratives based on today’s eco-data that serve as a form of critique on different practices that form our contemporary cities; from architecture and the building industry to the cultivation of land and food production, to the extensive use of cars to our daily habits. By highlighting the devastating impact of climate crisis as a point of departure, the aim of the current project is to question the current practices of architectural production that lack an ecological framework. Based on eco-data, the project documents the abandoned buildings of the city of Nicosia as potential material building stock and speculates future scenarios of urban living through reuse of building typologies. The project aims to restructure the triad of discourse, presentation, and practice of architectural, in relation to environmental concerns. The objective is explored by the integration of fictional narratives into the design process. The methodology of narrating the fictional narratives is constructed through the medium of comics. Comics have a long history of being employed as a medium for cultural critique. This technique is proposed as an alternative to traditional architectural drawings that allows for the integration of multiple temporalities (the past, present and the future) for critically observing and interpreting the current situation and its projection. Simultaneously, the project gives the opportunity to redefine the role of the architect, which can be expanded to that of the ‘eco-architect’; an architect that critically observes; that identifies and addresses issues that directly or indirectly concern the residents. In parallel, it can determine the way in which the different relationships between the urban environment and the human activities play out. In summary, my objective is to emphasize the significance of abandoned buildings and to criticize the prevailing attitude of neglect, exemplified by the preference for new luxury developments over the preservation of these structures that form an integral part of the city's identity