ArchiTeam PaperNews

date added: 23.04.2011

ECOWEEK 2011 IN THESSALONIKI:
The 6th international conference and 'green' design workshops ECOWEEK 2011 was completed successfully this month. Organized by Greek international NGO ECOWEEK, the conference was titled ECOWEEK 2011: Urban Communities and Green Architecture. It took place in Thessaloniki, Greece in March 28 - April 3, with the participation of more than 300 young participants - architects, designers, landscape architects and engineers - from 16 countries. Following the equally successful ECOWEEK conferences in Athens, Cyprus and the Middle East, ECOWEEK is becoming the cultural and ecological happening for 'green' design and the platform where young professionals create and design new ideas for ecological buildings and sustainable cities.

ECOWEEK 2011 DESIGN WORKSHOPS:
The ECOWEEK 2011 workshops were hosted by 37 professional groups in the city of Thessaloniki, among them firms of architects, landscape architects, and designers, the AKTO design school, Villa Kapanji (Educational Institution of the National Bank) and the School of Architecture of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. In the ECOWEEK workshops young professionals, guided by expert professionals, developed new ideas for ecological and landscape urban interventions in the city center in collaboration with the
City of Thessaloniki. The ECOWEEK 2011 design workshop themes were the following: (a) Design a passive solar house of zero emissions. (b) Design the sustainable renovation of an existing building. (c)Design a sustainable urban intervention and/or landscape design project, and (d) Design a project that will benefit a local community or NGO in the city.

The ECOWEEK 2011 workshop proposals have been posted at:
http://ecoweek.netfirms.com/ecoweek.gr/ecoweek2011/workshops.html (in low resolution. To receive materials in high resolution, please contact us).

ECOWEEK 2011 took place under the auspices of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece, the European Institute for Law, Science and Technology and the City of Thessaloniki.

ECOWEEK: BRIDGE BETWEEN GREECE AND THE MIDDLE EAST:
ECOWEEK founder and Chairman architect Elias Messinas pointed out at the press conference that: "ECOWEEK is a Greek initiative. It is an NGO that was created on the island of Aegina in 2005 and since 2008 is active in several countries in Europe and the Middle East. Its mission is to raise environmental awareness, especially among young professionals, and to promote sustainability, innovation and the principles of integrated development. ECOWEEK promotes environmentally-friendly solutions for every-day practices with regard to energy conservation, use of renewable energy sources, waste recycling and organic waste composting, and ecological building. ECOWEEK is developing into a platform of dialogue and cooperation for young voices for the exchange of ideas in 'green' design, entrepreneurship and sustainable communities and urban development."

ECOWEEK 2011 distinguished speakers included Danish architect Louis Becker of the award-winning firm Henning Larsen Architects, young award-winning architect from Sweden Rahel Belatchew Lerdell, Greek-Israeli desert architecture expert Prof. Isaac Meir, landscape architect Thomas Doxiadis, Greek architect and architecture historian Styliane Philippou, Iranian architect Reza Shirazi from TU Berlin, Turkish architect Aylin Ayna from Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts, Israeli architect Braha Kunda director of the Interior Design Department of the Holon Institute of Technology, Jordanian architect Ra'ed Jumean, and others.

ECOWEEK SPEAKERS:
ECOWEEK 2011 keynote speakers were award-winning architect Diebedo Francis Kere from Berlin, who builds schools in the communities of Burkina Faso, and whose work was recently exhibited at the MoMA in New York. Mr. Kere was hosted in Thessaloniki in collaboration with the Goethe Institute. Also, architect George Hargreaves, who presented his award-winning projects, among them his projects for the London Olympics in 2012. Mr. Hargreaves was hosted in Thessaloniki in collaboration with the British Council.

ECOWEEK 2011 also included the exhibition 'Global Award for Sustainable Architecture' which was made possible through the collaboration with the French Institute.

ECOWEEK UPCOMING EVENTS:
ECOWEEK 2011 in Thessaloniki was the first of a series of events scheduled to take place in 2011:

| ECCO ECOWEEK: ECOWEEK was introduced for the first time in Milan, Italy, at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile on April 12, hosted by architecture firm Monostudio.

| ECOWEEK 2011 in Milano - September 12-18, 2011. The first conference and design workshops of ECOWEEK in Italy will take place in collaboration with the Politecnico di Milano.

| ECOWEEK 2011 in Athens. Will take place in October 2011 in collaboration with Greek architecture magazine KTIRIO.

More events are planned for 2012: In the Middle East on February 2012, Italy, Romania and Germany. More details will be publicized shortly.

ECOWEEK.NET:
ECOWEEK has created a website for young professionals, to network, meet each other, collaborate and promote your work. The address: www.ecoweek.net

MORE INFORMATION:
More information on ECOWEEK activity at www.ecoweek.org

CONTACT:
For more information on ECOWEEK, please contact us at ecoweek@ecoweek.org or ecoweek@ecoweek.gr


Award-winning architect Diebedo Francis Kere at ECOWEEK 2011 in Thessaloniki, Greece. (© ECOWEEK 2011)


Press conference of ECOWEEK 2011 at Olympio Hall in Thessaloniki, Greece. (From right to left): Christos Giouzouktzidis (AKTO Design School administration), Elias Messinas (Chairman, ECOWEEK), Konstantinos Zervas (Deputy Mayor, City of Thessaloniki), honorary guest award-winning architect Diebedo Francis Kere, Peter Panes (Director, Goethe Institute Thessaloniki), Julien Chiappone Lucchesi (Director, French Institute Thessaloniki), and Kostas Aronis (Academic Director, AKTO Design School). (© ECOWEEK 2011)


Press conference of ECOWEEK 2011 at Olympio Hall in Thessaloniki, Greece. (© ECOWEEK 2011)


Award-winning architect Louis Becker of Henning Larsen from Denmark at ECOWEEK 2011 in Thessaloniki, Greece. (© ECOWEEK 2011)


The architect Prof. Emilia Costa from the Politecnico di Milano at ECOWEEK 2011 in Thessaloniki, Greece. (© ECOWEEK 2011)


The design workshop that was hosted at Villa Kapandji in Thessaloniki, led by architect Yiannis Epaminondas and prof. Emilia Costa at ECOWEEK 2011 in Thessaloniki, Greece. (© ECOWEEK 2011)


The design workshop that was hosted in the office of architect Aris Maganaris in ECOWEEK 2011 in Thessaloniki, Greece. (© ECOWEEK 2011)


The design workshop that was hosted in the office of architect Niko Kalogirou and Tatiana Tzaka at ECOWEEK 2011 in Thessaloniki, Greece. (© ECOWEEK 2011)


One of the design workshop proposals, by the workshop team led by architect George Hargreaves and Ioanna Karydi, that proposed new uses for the area of the Thessaloniki exposition grounds during ECOWEEK 2011 in Thessaloniki, Greece. (© ECOWEEK 2011)

For more images from ECOWEEK 2011 in Thessaloniki, Greece, click here:
http://ecoweek.netfirms.com/ecoweek/press_room_photo_album_ecoweek_ENG.htm