Introduction
Our research readdresses the notion of the
archive in the context of a multimedia database for the architecture and the
city. It investigates the aesthetic and ideological constitution of the archive,
the conceptual framework of the database and, finally, the database as a
storytelling mechanism that allows for multiple narrations about the city. A
pilot database comprising Greek documentaries about the city and its
architecture from the 1950s and 1960s acts as the touchstone against which our
research questions are raised. The results represent work in progress.
The Project
Our research project aims to tackle extremely
current aspects pertaining to the development of the Greek urban landscape via
the critical rendering and the effective utilisation of a multimedia archive.
Here, some initial results from on-going research conducted at the Laboratory
of Environmental Communication and Audiovisual Documentation (Department of
Architecture, University of Thessaly) are presented in brief. Using as a point
of departure Lev Manovich and Umberto Eco’s seminal work on the database and
the list respectively, this research examines how our understanding of the city
and its architecture can be shaped using the moving image as our primary
resource. For this purpose, the project launched an on-line multimedia database
with existing moving image works about the Greek city. Initially, the pilot
prototype will be using archival material from the collections of the (Hellenic)
National Audiovisual Archive and ERT’s Digital Archive, from the 1950s and
1960s, when the Greek urban landscape registered an unprecedented growth of
construction. This entailed handling (locating, previewing, categorising,
describing with relevant metadata) a considerable number of moving image works
that depict daily life, social events and state ceremonies in Athens and other
Greek cities. Efforts will be made to enrich the database with complementary
material from private collections that narrate the informal history of the Greek
city. The following link provides additional information about the conceptual framework of
the project, the database, media annotation and the digital tools utilised. The
project received funding from the Research Committee of the University of
Thessaly and Thales Research Support Program.
The production
In this early phase of our project, we experimented with a limited
number of media resources –moving image clips containing single shots and/or brief
sequences of shots– originating from three main sources: a. newsreels and
documentaries from the Hellenic National Audiovisual Archive, b.
documentaries and fiction films from the Greek Film Archive Foundation,
and, most importantly, c. family videos, personal footage or amateur films
submitted by individuals to the official website of the project, which is
currently under construction. Essentially, this pilot, proof-of-concept
production will attest which categories of spatial properties or urban features
are most suited to the study of the city in film. These categories exist in the
form of coded descriptive information pertaining to individual media files: database
assets annotated with descriptive, structural and administrative metadata.
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| Fig. 1: An Audio-visual Database for Post-war Architecture & the City in Greece. Index page. The official website of the project is currently under construction. |
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| Fig. 2: Spatial mapping of metadata. Database assets are analyzed in scenes, sequences and shots. Subsequently, each element is pinpointed on the map by using its geographical location. |
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Fig. 3: Previewing window. Here, potential interactors may watch user-generated
sequences of database items based on a set of finite options for navigating the
audio-visual database.
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Publications
Alifragkis, S. & Papakonstantinou, G.: An Audio-visual Database for Post-war Architecture and the City in
Greece [Conference Proceedings]. 3rd International Conference on Ambient Media and Systems - Ambi-Sys 2013, March 2013, Athens, Greece [Forthcoming Electronic Publication].
Events
- May 2012: Bridging generations: interdisciplinarity and life stories in the 21st century. Oral history and life history approaches in the social sciences
- March 2013: 3rd International Conference on Ambient Media and Systems: Ambi-Sys 2013
- May 2013:The HYBRID CITY II: Subtle rEvolutions The Hybrid City II: Subtle rEvolutions
Researchers
- George Papakonstantinou, Associate Professor, Department of Architecture, School of Engineering, University of Thessaly
- Stavros Alifragkis, Post-doctoral Research Associate, LECAD, Department of Architecture, School of Engineering, University of Thessaly
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