Absolut Think Tank Awards

My architectural posts have been becoming more and more scarce, so here is some interesting stuff from the Absolut Think Tank Awards that took place on May 29th.



The people awarded for their participation on the Againts All Odds project were:
Giannis Skaltsas, Athens School of Arts
Giorgos Mitroulias, Lecturer at University of Thessaly Architecture School (my school)
Kostas Moraitis, NTUA
and
Maurice Benayoun, New Media Art Professor Paris 8 and the creator of Ecosmosis exhibition

That's him below:


And that's me exploring the exhibition, shot by him:


The Against All Odds project explores social & environmental issues through actions and events like conferences, workshops and talks, with a "bottom up" approach, trying to sensitize the public by making it fully and really participate instead of just observing.

I was lucky enough to sit down and have a very interesting talk with Lina Stergiou and Maurice Benayoun (the people behind Against All Odds) on the day of the exhibition opening and the Absolut Think Tank Awards, and here are some interesting things that stayed with me:

• Architecture is social design
• The collective spirit and openness are lacking and the project is looking to bring them back (hence the title Against All Odds)
• Constrains help us produce unexpected solutions
• AAO is exploring new tracks, not necessarily expecting any immediate results

Also be sure to check out The Art Collider, an open project facilitating the cross-polination of global works and the research that informs them. Basically, it's a social network where people like architects, artists and social scientists put together artworks. It's fascinating how Maurice Benayoun's work is questioning the relationship between the works and the viewer and how the individual can have a collective impact, which translates to the Against All Odds agenda.

If you missed the Absolut Think Tank Awards day and exhibition opening, no worries. Ecosmosis is open until June 30, at Hellenic Cosmos Cultural Center.

Just don't miss it.