The auto-capture platform emphasizes the souvenir culture, celebrates a conventional tourist activity, and turns it into an event in the city, and for the city of Athens. The auto-capture platform acts locally, and projects it’s action globally. Rather than focusing on the stereotype mass-produced ready made postcard views of the city, the auto-capture platform facilitates the viewing of the city from a much more realistic perspective, integrating a more personal aspect:
The views are ephemeral capturing the city’s real image, over major axial roads. The structure celebrates the activity and turns it into an event, while the event itself celebrates an ephemeral yet, permanent recording of the city’s major axial views.
The auto-capture platform makes available views of the city, from unique unsuspected viewing points.
The city and it’s flux is becoming a spectacle, while the viewer can become part of the viewing frame by choice, and capture this moment, to keep as a souvenir, or send to a friend. The purpose of this architectural proposition, is specifically acknowledging that this activity belongs in the realm of city leisure and invents a way to accommodate it.
The auto-capture platform is an open-air structure to be placed over prominent avenues in the city. A metal structure is dressed by a corrugated polyurethane transcluscent skin to emphasize lightness, and present a singular object as a whole.
A brief promenade, accentuated by two long ramps gradually elevating pedestrian visitors from street level above, to intensify the experience.
Additional elements, a spiral staircase and an elevator, provide alternative ways of access to the platform. The platform can also acquire other secondary alternative functions, as an installation for public speeches, or events for public viewing such us fashion shows or other public performances related to the arts.
The visitors can either walk through, and simply experience the view as an optional diversion to their usual route, or pause and get an instant postcard view printed, of the city and themselves, if they wish to keep it as a souvenir.
The postcard views are at the same time stored in digital format on a hard disc, to be reproduced in the future in other desired outputs, as an image calendar, and trace of where the platform has been. The auto-capture platform records it’s visitors and collects instants of the city.
International Open Competition / Ephemeral structures for the city of Athens 2001
Organisation: Cultural Olympiad Athens Ministry of Culture
With architect: Eleana Horiti
Structural engineering consultant: Yiannis Tsopanakis
Jury: Elias Zenghelis, architect, representing the Promoter (Greece), Zaha Hadid, architect (Iraq/United Kingdom), Hani Rashid, architect (Canada/USA), Yatsuka Hasime, architect (Japan), Sylvia Lavin, architect (USA), Claudio Baldisserri, architect (Italy), representing the UIA, Andreas Vourekas-Petalas, architect appointed by ATHENS 2004 OC, G. Peponis, architect appointed by the Athens School of Architecture, Nikolaos Tsinikas, architect appointed by the Greek Association of Architects, Ifigeneia Lolopoulou-Skamnaki, architect appointed by the Technical Chamber of Greece, Wolfgang Tochterman, architect (Germany), appointed by UNESCO.