1st PRIZE ON THE INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION ''INNATUR 4'' / MARINA LEVENTAKI, ELISANIA MICHALOPOULOU

INTRO

 

[Hittite <parna> means abode, the shelter of life.]

Parnitha is a densely forested mountain range north of Athens, the capital of Greece, with an elevation of 1.413 meters above sea level.

 

Much of the mountain is designated a National Park, and is a protected habitat for wildfowl. The mountain was for centuries a popular hiking destination for the Athenians as well as naturalists all over Greece. Until the 26th of June in 2007, when a fire started from a pillar of electricity supply and ended in destroying half of the protected area in Parnitha. The county of Attica has declared the area open for reforestation, and has tripled the extent of the protected area. 

 

CONCEPT

 

The eye meets two contrasting landscapes after the fire of 2007. One burnt and lifeless. And one standing full of life, like fire never happened. In many areas, this contrast is so sharp that reveals a linear track of where the fire stopped burning. There, a limit exists, which we name “the line of fire”. Descending, along the line of fire, one can have simultaneously two opposite views. On the right, the view of the forest, and on the left, the view of the burnt. We could say that these views present two versions of the future in Parnitha. The desirable, green future and the one most likely to happen, if people stay without action. It is clear that Parnitha will be, for the time on, a changing landscape. Apparently, we find ourselves on a turning point. The actions we make now are absolutely critical for the future.

 

As a result, the line of fire becomes the ideal spot for an interpretation centre. A building that we handle as a procedure of initiation into the forest. The present is witnessed, the way of changing it is indicated, and the resulted future is hinted. The line of fire consists of two parallel walls, each one made of two-way mirrors. Thanks to this material, each wall has an outward reflective and an interior transparent appearance.

 

Inside the line of fire, all the functions of the building take place. Nine different levels are combined in a way that simulates the descent of the physical ground. A total altitude difference of 28 meters and the interior transparency of the two-way mirror, make the coexistence of outdoor activities and indoor panoramic views of Parnitha feasible. The heart of the building is located in the linear part of the exhibition space. There, the line of fire becomes “the line of life”, through a demonstration of the procedure of reforestation step by step and the actions needed afterwards for the conservation of the forest. This procedure aims to persuade people to take action immediately, participate in the reforestation projects starting here, and be able to define the future image of Parnitha.  

 

Outside the line of fire, the exhibition space is separated into two rooms, on either sides of the line. The rooms are designed in a way to create two illusions, each one presenting a different version of Parnitha. The visitor walks either through the burnt forest (the “burnt room”) or through the green forest (the “green room”). The illusion of different surroundings is feasible through the reflection of each view on the two-way mirror. The intention is to emphasize on how crucial change is in Parnitha, starting from the change in each one of us, when we treat nature with appreciation and respect. In any case, destroyed landscapes are a result of human action. But again thanks to human action, these can be reborn. And if our efforts are successful, after 100 and more years, Parnitha could be again a vivid forest, with the building still standing, as a reminder of the dangers forest faces every day.