ALCOVES

22 January 2015 Architectural Association, London Nominated for the 2014 Global Architecture Graduate Awards (GAGA) at The Architecture Review, AA graduate Antonis Papamichael writes about his Diploma project from the 2013-14 academic year in Diploma Unit 14. Alcoves focuses on subverting the two elements that have maximised the efficiency of housing and secured the disintegration of the family. The project suggests that the parti-wall and the distribution space should become tools of interaction, whether it is for conflict or negotiation. Alcoves is a project that simply takes a language familiar to the realm of housing, but subverts it in such a way to allow the family to operate outside the policies and tools that dictate the way we occupy space. The project works against the current tendency to compartmentalise the interior, by transforming the distribution space into a single generous communal space, which is surrounded by two adaptable inhabited frames. Being shortlisted for the 2014 Global Architecture Graduate Award means that a project which I consider very personal seems to be relevant to a wider public due to its potential social agenda. Additionally, I consider the nomination as the next step towards fruitful and useful discussions regarding Alcoves, so that it can slowly shift from a student project to an architecture project and eventually become a tangible proposal. For more information: Studio Abroad Diploma 14 Unit Brief Antonis Papamichael on Projects Review Global Architecture Graduate Awards 2014 The Architecture Review