Deciphering Mechanisms and Narration Systems in the Natural Landscape: The Case of Keros: A threshold experience of a performative paper

Περίληψη

This research project explores the design methodology of a site-specific experience in Keros, an uninhabited island in the Cyclades, where access has been forbidden since 1992. Keros carries traces of dense historical layering: from early Cycladic ritual activity (c. 2750 BCE) to a classical acropolis, Byzantine ruins, and more recent structures. The island could be described as an abaton, a site known primarily through excavation reports, oral histories, and distant observation. The central research questions are: “How can a place be perceived, archived, and interpreted remotely? How can we design a site-specific experience for a place we cannot access?” To address these, we developed a four-layer documentation system that captures the island’s physical, narrative, and mythological dimensions. Layers include: the island’s geomorphology and human traces (Layer 0); buried stories through ruins and excavations (Layer -A); intangible oral histories and myths (Layer +A); and an attempt to reintegrate this liminal space into a collective geography (Layer +∞).

Following this remote archiving process, a single 8-hour visit allowed us to document a 3.5 km route using GPS, continuous video, photographs, and our embodied experience. We identified 42 spatial transitions, classified into six qualities: path, plateau, staircase, balcony, tiers, and forest, treating each as a scenographic element- structuring a sequence of moments in which the visitor becomes performer, and the site becomes stage. The resulting intervention acted as a guiding mechanism, framing the visual field and choreographing spatial, immersive experiences for the flâneur.

The central element of this project is the system itself: a methodology for remotely, documenting, and reimagining different landscapes. This system functions as a mirror between site and project, generating tools tied in the landscape’s unique characteristics. While the methodology is universal, its content and expression are always site-specific - as the mechanism is fed by the unique traits of each landscape.