“Nobody can mess up with God,” government spokesman said in all seriousness at the briefing on Monday regarding the floods in northern Evia that was devastated by the forest fires in last August.

“The problem was not that the burned roads were blocked” he said adding “unfortunately nobody can mess up with God, we cannot control natural phenomena.”

Oikonomou’s blame-game is a turn to an even higher spiritual level by the conservative government narrative that claimed in summer “the climate change was to blame for forest fires” and not the delayed intervention of the humans to extunguish the blazes with aerial and other means.

Michalis Oikonomou (Greek, 1888–1933)

Martigues, N/D

The volcanic soil on the Greek island of Santorini produces a unique variety of cherry tomato that's popular with tourists.

Today, one man is keeping the industry alive on Santorini after a 1956 earthquake nearly cratered the industry.

THE BIG BEND

There is an undeniable obsession that resides in Manhattan. It is undeniable because it is made to be seen. There are many different ways that can make a building stand out, but in order to do so the building has to literary stand out. We have become familiar with building height measurements. We usually learn about the latest tallest building and we are always impressed by it’s price per square foot. It seems that a property’s height operates as a license for it to be expensive. New York city’s zoning laws have created a peculiar set of tricks trough which developers try to maximize their property’s height in order to infuse it with the prestige of a high rise structure. But what if we substituted height with length? What if our buildings were long instead of tall? If we manage to bend our structure instead of bending the zoning rules of New York we would be able to create one of the most prestigious buildings in Manhattan. The longest building in the world. The Big Bend can become a modest architectural solution to the height limitations of Manhattan. We can now provide our structures with the measurements that will make them stand out without worrying about the limits of the sky.

GUGGENHEIM EXTENSION STORY

What if we decided we needed a little more of Guggenheim?

Its famous ramps would continue their ascent “completing” the atrium under the glass roof. The vertical “completion” of Guggenheim would lead to the formation of an internal cone at the peak of which the circular ramp would become a homogeneous level, the last floor of the museum. The glass roof becomes a light source, diffusing its rays towards the interior. However, Guggenheim museum has become so iconic, so emblematic and hermetic in our minds that it can no longer be touched by architects! Even if his own creator were to propose an alternation of its form, New Yorkers would suddenly feel as if they have lost a dear old friend. In a building loaded with symbolism even the story of its alteration could become its extension.     

Ioannis Oikonomou

CITY HORISON

2nd Place in International architectural competition “Urban and architectural design of waterfront Tivat “Pine”, area 9900m2, Municipality of the City of Tivat, Montenegro.

The urban design problem concerning the urbanization of a former militarized zone and it’s transformation into a international touristic destination came to surface through the urban regeneration of the pier of Tivat. Through the analysis of the architectural question it became apparent that the real issue revolves around the problematic relationship between the wharf and the surrounding area as well as the urban role which is able to play. In this sense the pier can be seen as an urban core that manages the flows of the city. In order to operate in this manner, the pier should be linked in a bigger degree to the city center and also have direct communication with the north and south side of the town. For this to happen the pier itself must to be completed to a certain point of it’s surface. Covering the existing gap of the pier, the city’s front facing the street  becomes a bigger, including the former military zone. This way the whole pier is transformed into a square, ready to be connected to the rest of the city through the management of materials.

Competition team : 

GV

in progress..