"Studying the ruins".

October 2023, Paliouri, Hellas.
Intensive Field Laboratory.

Organization:

• TAM UTH - Department of Architecture, University of Thessaly, Hellas.
• Critical Strategies Interdisciplinary Studio - CRISIS.lab, University of Ioannina.
• Sustainable Design of Build Environment lab – sdbe lab, University of Thessaly, Hellas.

Scientific Coordination:

• Dimitris Psychogyios
• Nikos Patsavos
• Vaggelis Brachos

Paliouri is a settlement that develops at an altitude of 230 meters, at a short geographical distance from Volos and Dimini. Its current situation is characterized by intense population shrinkage and almost complete abandonment, especially after the earthquakes of 1957, with few permanent residents, mainly livestock breeders.

The settlement is an indicative case of a regional residential complex that has suffered the effects of post-war urbanization and internal migration. At the same time, it maintains important morphological and spatial characteristics that reflect a qualitative and functional relationship with the rural area and the natural environment.

The existing, largely abandoned, building stock is a representative example of folk stone architecture, showing particular interest in terms of construction techniques, typology and its integration into the landscape. Its current condition makes it, at the same time, an open field for exploring and documenting traditional building knowledge.

In this context, the laboratory focuses on the systematic study of the building stock, its detailed recording and mapping, its building and morphological analysis, as well as the utilization of modern methodologies and technologies of documentation and digital representation.