AA HONOURS 2016: MARIDIA KAFETZOPOULOU, DIPLOMA 9

24 June 2016 Architectural Association, London 'The Crack in the Wall' approaches architecture as an entity that does not sit in isolation but rather holds the power of continuous transformation. The project addresses 'The Architect as Project', and we as Architects never work in isolation. Buildings are designed and built as a series of fragments, referencing multiple scales and materials, with architects continually dealing with different scenarios. But what happens in-between those seemingly discontinuous moments? The project interrogates the spaces of transition and the moments of connectivity between the individual islands of events, artefacts and protagonists, which all together assemble one continuous Archipelago. Using as a foundation the surrealist game of Exquisite Corpse or “Cadavre Exquis”, the project argues for an architecture that is constantly changing by transforming itself to create new architectural readings. The architect uses the frame as his medium to construct spatial continuity. Instead of using the frame to isolate, the architect uses the frame to incorporate that which sits outside the frame. By reconfiguring and unfolding, the project explores architecture as a medium of change and transformation as opposed to a static immovable object. With every drop, with every move, architecture recreates itself, defeats its previous purpose and becomes something new. Perhaps a new fantasy, but definitely a new reality... The project is not a building. It is a manifesto about connectivity and assembly that uses architecture as a threshold as opposed to a terminus. After an incredible journey from foundation until this moment…I feel blessed and honoured to present alongside such gifted and talented students on this special day. I would like to express my deepest gratitude for the support of my tutors throughout the years and my dear friends across the school who have all made this journey so unique. For more information: Diploma 9 Unit Brief Diploma 9 microsite Honours on AA Conversations Maridia Kafetzopoulou on AA Conversations