News about the Technical University of Crete RSS feed
On the weekend of June 12 and 13, the Greek Revolution "came to life" throughout Greece as a central event of the "Greece 2021" Committee. "DESIRE FOR FREEDOM" was screened on iconic buildings of 18 cities, using the technique of projection mapping, showing a visual narrative of the Struggle of 1821 through relevant works of art. The projections took place simultaneously on the facades of the 18 selected buildings, with the Hellenic Parliament building in the lead. In addition to the history of the Revolution, the projections also address the modern history of each city. It is the most significant mapping project ever attempted in Greece. The production of the artistic narrative of the material and its adaptation on the buildings was done by the Transformable Intelligent Environments Laboratory (TUC TIE Lab) of the School of Architecture of the Technical University of Crete.
The cities which hosted the event were: Athens (the Hellenic Parliament building), Alexandroupolis (Zarifeios Pedagogical Academy), Heraklion (the building of the Region of Crete), Thessaloniki (Royal Theatre), Ioannina (Judicial Hall), Kalamata (Visual Arts Workshop - Art Center), Corfu (Old Town Hall), Lamia (Municipal Theatre), Larissa (Club of Guard Officers), Messolonghi (Municipal Gallery), Naoussa (Town Hall), Nafplio (Town Hall), Piraeus (Municipal Theater of Piraeus), Rhodes (Town Hall), Syros (Apollo Theatre), Tripoli (Judicial Hall), Chania (Mikis Theodorakis Theatre), and Chios (Castle Wall - Porta Maggiore).
The Municipalities selected the buildings, and the "Greece 2021" Committee closely collaborated with the local governments for the project's necessary groundwork. The visual content was accompanied by an original musical composition, and the projections were further enhanced by an installation of atmospheric lighting in the surrounding area.
The "secrets" of an innovative visual narrative
The projection's focus is the narration of the Revolution of 1821, starting in the pre-revolutionary years and concluding with the establishment of the modern Greek State. The material that composes the visual narrative derives from paintings and other documents such as books or official reports. In particular, more than 300 engravings and paintings from Museums, Municipalities, and private collections in Greece and abroad were used for its development, while the artistic segments of the work were created through a unique procedural approach by the TUC TIE Lab called visual layering, which "gives life" to works of art, adding depth, movement, and sound, using the technique of animation.
This way, during the screening, the viewer has the opportunity to see depictions of life in Greece before the Revolution and follow the events that led to the outbreak of the Struggle, such as the establishment of the Friendly Society or the uprising in Moldova and Wallachia; to watch a series of fictionalized defining moments of the Struggle, such as the Battle of Dervenakia or the Exodus of Messolonghi, and to learn about the first National Assemblies, Philhellenism and the London Protocol of Independence. The projection of the artistic narrative was adapted to the particular dimensions of each building, taking into consideration, in addition to its height, length and width, many other aspects, such as openings, materials and surface textures, lighting conditions, etc.
The narrative of the Revolution in a digital app, too.
About a month after the screenings, a digital app will become functional, which, via augmented reality, will enable citizens and visitors of the 18 cities to watch the audiovisual narrative using their mobile phones or tablets. In particular, after installing the free-of-charge app on his/her device, each user will be able to watch the project by standing in a specific spot in front of each building and aiming at the façade with the device's camera. At the same time, through the application, the user will have access to a plethora of information on the Projects and Events of the "Greece 2021" Committee. The app is available for mobile phones and tablets, Android and iOS, in Greek and English.
Watch the videos in "Greece 2021" Committee page
In the Athens video, you can watch the full-length screening, while in the videos of the other 17 cities, you can watch the segment of the screening that concerns each city's specific historical evidence.
Info from the page of "Greece 2021" Committee.
