AAO-Against All Odds project

“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used
when we created them.” A. Einstein

AAO is a mechanism that produces thoughts, ideas and actions. An interdisciplinary research and creative platform in architecture, design and art with social and ecological stakes.

AAO
Concept-curator: Lina Stergiou.
Organizers: Maria Panayides, Lina Stergiou 4LifeStrategies.

AAO is
• first, a thinking mechanism: it promotes debate on occurring issues which need to be addressed within the framework of Architecture (in its wider understanding as spatial practice) regarding society, ecology and culture.
• second, a disseminator of ideas: it raises public awareness on the value of Architecture (as spatial practice) in resolving significant current issues, as well as in offering a podium for the promotion of projects that address its main philosophy.
• third, an action tank: it sets targets for the fulfillment of which it creates partnership models with organizations, educational institutions and designers, becoming their strategic partner.

It aims to detect and investigate the issue through which a solution to contemporary social, ecological and cultural problems is derived; a solution which is related to Architecture either in the existing framework of the discipline or through a necessary transformation within it. This is the object of research and, therefore, the subject matter of Against All Odds.

At the same time, it aims to inform and raise public awareness as to the function and positive effect of Architecture for the benefit of society as a whole. But also as to the art of Architecture to act ‘as a mediator of social tensions and be considered as a resource, one of the instruments which contribute to the balance of society’. ‘To try to carry out strategies that contribute to the overall quality of human settlements. Τo bring to society special knowledge, skills, and aptitudes essential to the development of the built environment of their societies and cultures’ .

Principles:
• multidisciplinary approach – it employs a combination of related creative fields such as Architecture, Art and Design, for the creation of a multilateral creative practice acting in the benefit of society in its whole.
• Global issue perception.
• Local perception application.

AAO restructures its form and suggests a different answer depending on the issue it has chosen to address.

Objective of Ethics / Aesthetics:
The objective of Ethics / Aesthetics is to explore the ethical values related to territorial practices and to communicate the conclusions to the public. In particular, it aims to promote the current social dimension of Architecture through the expansive analogies with Design and Art; and by enhancing the field of Architecture, to suggest solutions on social and ecological issues – both in relation to public realm and the improvement of daily life. The interaction between ethics and aesthetics unfolds in series of events reflecting an interdisciplinary approach: exhibitions, cross-disciplinary conferences, academic workshops, urban actions and performance-actions. Through diverse cooperative groups consisting of specialists in the fields of architecture, design and art, progressive and innovative works become a medium in order to enhance multiple facets of social employment, ecological sensitivity and of the need for the environment protection.

Read more About Ethics/Aesthetics