Isalos Line

The main focus of “Isalos line” had to do with the different ways of conceiving space, through the living experience and the distinction of the qualities that can be recognized in it, and how this idea could be included in the designing process of a pedestrian route in a remote island.

At the same time, there was the concern of whether this process can be part of an architectural design. Thus occurred the need for a design that could include this train of thought. The best option would be to find a field of research unaffected by external factors, an empty space, a remote island. The island which was chosen is called Skartsoubonisi and is located in the middle of three bays in the island of Ithaca, in the Ionian Sea. \nThe morphology of Ithaca is very unusual with lots of hills very close to each other and a huge variety of small bays and beaches. Those three bays (Forkynas bay, Mprosta Aetos bay and Vathi) are forming a ring around the island, blocking the view in any type of horizon, offering a panoramic view of Ithaca.\nThe main topic of this design is a pedestrian route in Skartsoumbonisi, that as its main spatial structure would have the properties of shapes within shapes, modular spaces and helical ascents. The island was separated into smaller sectors, according to the relation between the different points that corresponded in different parts of Ithaca, creating a route that would unfold the narrative relations between the fields of vision of the two islands. \nThe result was a structure that huged the island in different levels, providing a total view of Ithaca. This structure consisted of different types of stairs, routes, observatories, sitting lounges, platforms and a central amphitheater in the top of the island. The intention was to face the island as a piece of clay and sculpture it, making cavities and protrusions depending on the rotation of the view. At the same time the forms and the shapes that have been designed have as central principal the these three properties, “shapes within shapes”, “modular spaces” and “helical ascents”.