––––
Alice Papamichalopoulou, Karina Smagulova
In the Mediterranean Sea, the Aegean’s Archipelago provides a unique island formulation, as there are more than 3000 islands located in a sea area of 240000 km2, of which only the 96 are inhabited. The Cyclades are one of the island groups that constitute the Aegean archipelago. The name refers to the Greek word for cycle, due to the one which the islands form around the sacred island of Delos. The Cyclades comprise about 220 islands, covering a total area of 2,572 km2 . The last population measurement showed that there were 119,549 people living permanently in Cyclades. The islands are peaks of a submerged mountainous terrain, with the exception of two volcanic islands, Milos and Santorini. The climate is generally dry and mild with intense wind action. There are 96 areas protected by Natura 2000, most of which are wetlands, and host many bird’s species during transitional seasons. Cyclades were inhabited since the ancient years and the traditional settlements that exist till today are more than 160.
Eternal Exile
The project aims to present the historic aspect of Gyaros, by making the area accessible to visitors. The scaffolding which encircles the island has two roles. The first one is to create a promenade around the island and provide to the visitors a visual aspect of the island, which will be the exact opposite of the one that the prisoners had – island view. The second one is about the visualization of the invisible border which isolated the prisoners from the rest of the world. That boarder is a consequence of the sea characteristics- which were both liberating and restrictive for the prisoners.
©COASTAL DOMAINS 2016-2017