A Scenario for Outdoor Living:

Hiking facilities in Ancient Lissos

Student: Eva Lavranou

Date: June 2018

University of Thessaly

Course: Diploma Thesis

Project
Location: Crete Island, Greece

Advisor: Costis Paniyiris

How does the land motivate us to inhabit it? This diploma thesis deals with the issue of temporary outdoor living in the area of Ancient Lissos in Crete. Lissos is a stopover for hikers following the E4 European path and is only accessible by hiking or by boat. It attracts travelers who seek to reconnect with nature and are willing to accept the loss of a significant part of their comforts. The subject of the research is the traveler who through walking, will try to uncover the meanings that connect humans to the environment and urge them to become residents. How can architecture approach a place that carries memories and ruins of the past, wounding and altering the character of the landscape as little as possible?

Each landscape requires different means to become habitable. The intervention in Lissos, which is an archeological site, is inspired by the technique of time montage and seeks to create a new stratigraphy in the existing territory. The new structures stand free to the landscape, losing their identity as buildings. The facilities include places to prepare food, sleep, take a bath, sit by the fire and a restroom. Outdoor habitation structures promote collective life and provide a minimum comfort simply to meet a basic need. And the question remains; Could the architecture of the tourism inhabitation get rid of the current consumption patterns and return to the minimum without being poor?