The MSc 2 course Agential Materialism was different than I was used to. The course was more about concept design and building a theoretical framework to back the design than about the design itself. The assignment was to create a reaction to a architectural problem in the neighbourhood of Exarchia in Athens. For this course we first had lectures about Athens and its economic and political history. After the lectures we were placed in groups with similar interests. I finished this course with three other students.
What we noticed in Exarchia was strong contradictions in the surroundings of Exarchia square, a square that used to be a meeting point for protesters and anarchists, but is now fenced off for the construction of a metro station that will accelerate gentrification in the neighbourhood. The gentrification was the thing the protesters were protesting against. Around the square, riot police with shields and weapons are stationed at every corner. At the same time tourists are drinking a beer on a terrace right next to these officers. The desensitisation to the surrounding was one of our interests, we wanted to re-sensitise. The people in the area almost looked like actors in a theatre, repetitively performing their actions but not really interacting with eachother.
Our intervention is not by defenition a “solution” to these problems but it does question the status quo. The intervention is a happening, a moment.
The fence around the square, opens up.
It opens up to new opportunity.
It’s a tuesday morning, 9:43am in April, 2025. The fence begins to unfold. Tourists panic and move their chairs into the street. Police men move out of the way of the wall collapsing above them which they have defended for so long. The fence makes contact with the ground, and the square open. Cars stand still, blocked by chairs and confused waiters. Tourists from opposite sides make eye-contact with each other from the cafe’s. Policemen turn towards the square instead of the street, confused. Where is the metro station? You hear one of them saying. Unaware of what to do next, police radio each other to ask what the hell is happening. Athenians smoking cigarrettes on the balconies call to their families to come check out the scene. Like an amphitheater the space has all eyes on it, filled with a quiet murmur of questions, and general confusion. Cars continue to beep, some people get out of their cars to investigate. Should the police defend the square? Can people enter the space? There are no actions to take besides those which they immediately decide for themselves.
