Client: -
Area: -
Location: Mani Peninsula, Greece
Status: proposal
Year: 2019
The project calls for the utilization and regeneration of such a sensitive place like Mani by reinterpreting the traditional tower-houses and continually of the whole settlement. While remoteness was one of the reasons for the dereliction of this area, it could become the driving force of its transformation to something vivid and alive.
The concept starts with the need of a person to take time off in remoteness and get distanced from the fast living of the 21st century. It takes place in an authentic, secluded and semi-abandoned area in the southernmost point of the Greek mainland, Mani peninsula. Nature covers the full spectrum with imposing mountain peaks, golden beaches, jagged coastlines with translucent waters.
Vernacular landscapes can be complex because these are heterogeneous and fragile. They call for a type of tourism that is sensitive and able to recognize the environment, appropriating its cultural values, both past, and present. Locals are the backbone of a vernacular landscape. They are keeping the values and traditions alive and without them, cultural tourism would not be possible.
The vision is the reinterpretation and regeneration of a semi-abandoned village with the creation of a vibrant local community with a mixture of tenants including locals, tourists, remote workers as well as families that would settle in the newly reformed village.
