Architectural Design V-IX: Delos (GD I. Sklavounos)

Abstract

On the Greek island of Delos, vernacular farmhouses tell an unexpected story of resourcefulness, adaptation, and hybrid construction. This design studio invites students to explore how this story speaks to contemporary challenges, designing the revitalization of a network of farmhouses through the intersection of traditional building crafts and emerging sustainability practices.

Objective

Hands-on Design and Construction: Develop expertise in adaptive reuse design, learning to analyze existing structures and environments to unlock their transformative potential Master hands-on construction techniques using traditional materials—stone, earth and lime mortars, wood—while exploring contemporary applications through workshops at ETH Design material and social construction processes, considering participatory methods that engage both professionals and local communities Ecological Systems and Landscape: Learn to design "with" rather than "upon" local ecosystems, coordinating human settlements with living landscape systems Analyze sites through geology, hydrology, flora, fauna, and environmental processes to inform design decisions Develop water management, energy, and waste systems that work symbiotically with natural cycles Documentation and Communication: Develop skills in ethnographic documentation and oral history research when working with craftspeople and local communities Integrate oral history with visual storytelling, creating accessible narratives about construction processes Explore architectural representation through traditional symbols and ornament as vehicles for ecological meaning Practice sgraffito techniques in collaboration with Delphine Schmid and the Kalkwerk team, investigating how traditional motifs can express contemporary ecological concerns Heritage and Climate Adaptation: Develop awareness of the complexities involved in intervening within UNESCO World Heritage Site protection frameworks Understand distinctions between conservation, preservation, restoration, and adaptive reuse approaches, and their different theoretical foundations Challenge conventional approaches to heritage sites, exploring how cultural preservation can connect with climate adaptation strategies Study examples where archaeological sites successfully integrate contemporary uses, formulating new models that balance heritage protection with environmental resilience

Content

This investigation takes place on the island of Delos, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Aegean Sea known for its ancient sanctuary of Apollo and role as a major trading hub in antiquity. When French archaeologists began excavations in the 1870s, they employed peasants from neighboring Mykonos, some of whom established small farms on the island. These farmers developed intimate knowledge of the island’s landscape, climate, and geology, building humble dwellings that embody a fundamentally hybrid approach to construction—using local stone, ancient marble fragments, and later even repurposing iron rail tracks from the archaeological operations as ceiling beams. The crafts collective Boulouki is currently restoring one such farmhouse using traditional techniques and natural materials while exploring sustainable systems for water, energy, and waste management. Building on this work, the studio challenges students to scale up this approach across a network of ruined farmhouses scattered across the island, learning to work hands-on with natural materials and to design collaboratively with the island’s ecosystem through construction methods that engage with landscape resurgence—the island’s ongoing capacity for ecological and cultural renewal. The studio explores the transformative potentials of vernacular architecture through three contemporary lenses: Materials and Construction—exploring adaptive reuse, natural materials, and circular building practices within current sustainability frameworks; Living Landscapes—engaging with contemporary ecological design approaches that work alongside natural systems and seasonal cycles; Stories and Symbols—investigating how architectural ornament, figuration and storytelling can reconnect contemporary building with cultural meaning and ecological awareness. Throughout the semester, students will engage in hands-on workshops on natural building and traditional construction techniques at ETH. Students will visit Delos during an integrated Seminar Week for in-depth site analysis alongside craftspeople, local inhabitants, and specialists, while being introduced to methodologies of ethnographic research and oral history. Through this work, students will develop an understanding of traditional building knowledge as a resource for ecological resilience, exploring how collaborations across diverse knowledge systems can enrich contemporary approaches to sustainable architecture.

Resources