athens GREECE

suckerPUNCH: Describe your project.

christos KOUKIS: Metaplasia comes from the greek word ‘μετάπλασις’ (mĕ-tap′lă-sis) which means change in form. As a scientific terminology is being used in cases where a cell type is not robust enough to withstand a new environment and so it mutates in another type more adapted to it.

The definition matches the aim of this project; the conversion of an existing situation (site & concept ‘stadium’) to another one, more adapted to the reality of the area and the era. Located in Nea Philadelpheia, a suburb of Athens, where immense urban density and natural beauty (grove of N. Philadelpheia) coexist, and designed in the same place with a demolished stadium, metaplasia becomes a new system, building, entity that through simulation techniques, time-based mutation, gradual metamorphosis and adaptive logic becomes a new species.

sP: What or who influenced this project?
cK: My tutor Vasilis Stroumpakos, Crossover studio works | speciation.evolving mutation of aesthetics, Hernan Diaz Alonso’s work.

sP: What were you reading/listening to/watching while developing this project?
cK: Reading Out of Control by Kevin Kelly and Algorithmic Architecture by Kostas Terzidis; listening to di.fm.

sP: Whose work is currently on your radar?
cK: Hernan Diaz Alonso, Tom Wiscombe, excessive studio works, Steven Ma, Edward Kim, X|Atelier, Foral Blog-Yaohua Wang Architecture.

Additional links:
christoskoukis.wordpress.com