Competition / OPEN CALL: FOR ARCHITECTS/ARTISTS_?SECOND NATURE? / The Organisation European Capital of Culture ? Pafos2017

The Open Call is open to professional architects, artists, designers and students of architecture schools of member states of the International Union of Architects (UIA). This Open Call is characterised, firstly, by a general interest in urban planning, involving issues of open towns, green spaces and generally issues that relate to the following pairs: town-nature, nature-humans. It is, in other words, related to the ascertainment that today the historical and traditional town centres exhibit a generally degraded image. A typical example of such an area is the Open Call’s study area, the Municipal Garden, located in the central core of the town of Pafos. With the obvious lack of maintenance, the Garden is now an abandoned area and, as such, a not so attractive green space in the urban fabric of the town, with little interest and few proposals for uses and activities by the visitors. 

Today, due to this image of abandonment, the weaknesses of the Municipal Garden and the living environment in general, it is essential to improve and utilise the Garden, as well as to redefine its role in relation to the whole town. With this as the main aim – the redefinition of the Garden’s relationship with the town and generally the redefinition of human coexistence with nature – we suggest the investigation, study and design of structures entitled “SECOND NATURE”, that can strengthen these relationships/pairs: town-nature, nature-humans, since the present state of the park prohibits this potential interaction and fosters an alienation that is due to the Garden’s definitive separation from the whole town. THE STRUCTURES The call of this Open Call, entitled “SECOND NATURE”, proposes the creation of 7 light, small scale structures that will be placed in the open space of the garden. The main objective of the Open Call is the promotion and upgrading of the garden, as well as its diffusion to the whole town and, most of all, the strengthening of human presence in this area. 

The main objective of the theme of this Open Call – “SECOND NATURE” – is to create structures that will act as receptors of nature, i.e. green cores-containers that will be the natural extension of the garden. These structures will act as urban points and forms in the garden areas, which will mainly carry in their construction planting and generally plants such as flowers, herbs and others, thus creating a new peripatetic experience in the garden area and, also, giving the opportunity to the town’s residents to come into contact with nature. At the same time, the structures will act as a background for numerous activities and events in the garden, providing new challenges and experiences to the visitors. Due to the particularities of the site, the structures will be based on a general intend of mild intervention in the park.