Following the “AI applied in Architecture” workshop, a pilot event successfully completed at the beginning of March this year, our partners from ETSAB (Technical School of Architecture in Barcelona) invited us to be part of a new challenge; the “Videomapping and Heritage” workshop organized within the Archaeological Museum of Catalonia, right on the Greco-Roman archaeological site Empuries (ancient Emporion), where we stayed. This unique experience was attended by 3 professors from IMUAU (Assoc.Prof. Ph.D. arch. Codina Dușoiu, Sr. Lecturer Ph.D. des. Andreea Ivanciof and Assist.Prof. Ph.D. Arch.Raluca Trifa) and 9 students from the Faculty of Architecture and the Doctoral School Doctorate of IMUAU. On behalf of the hosts, two institutions participated: ETSAB (professors Dr. Isidro Navarro, Dr. Lluis Giménez, Dr. M. Christodoulou and others) and CITM-UPC (Center for Image and Multimedia Technology) - professors B. Martínez, Dr. E. Villegas , Dr. E. Fonts, as well as student groups from each of the two school. The theme of the workshop twinned archaeology, culture and media techniques, through a new challenge: the history of wine and its arrival, by sea, on the Costa Brava, precisely from Asia Minor, from the territory of present-day Turkey. This combination resulted in a unique, multisensory experience, which generated original interpretations, presented by the 4 participating student teams.
In the two days before the actual workshop, which started on April 19, the group of IMUAU representatives had the chance to visit the ETSAB headquarters, guided by Prof. Eulalia Gomez, ETSAB's international relations manager. During this visit, a conference dedicated to the architecture of wine was organized, supported by the Sala Ferušic architecture office, and an exhibition with the projects realized within the 1st Workshop AI in Architecture, completed in March 2024, was inaugurated. The workshop was organized by ETSAB and was attended by IMUAU and three schools of architecture in Mexico (UAM-Azcapotzalco, Universidad de Guadalajara, TEC de Monterrey). I found with emotion on the walls of the school of architecture in Barcelona the projects completed only a month and a half ago, which were worked on with passion and dedication in the space of the “MAC Popescu” Experimental Workshop at IMUAU. Another unforgettable moment was the visit to the architectural office Benedetta Tagliabue – EMBT, located in the center of Barcelona, a visit that inspired us all through the inexhaustible imagination of model studies, spatial installations and design prototypes, which transform it into a living museum.
The two recently concluded successful events (1st Workshop AI in Architecture and the Empuries Videomapping and Heritage Workshop) lay the foundations for a consistent, long-lasting collaboration between the Shape Study and Ambient Department and the homonymous Departamento de Representación Arquitectonica structure from ETSAB, the initiator of the two mentioned events.
Below is a brief description of the projects carried out at Empuries, completed with animation files that were projected on the facade of the building of the Archaeological Museum of Catalonia, located right on the Greco-Roman archaeological site.
Team 1. A TOAST TO HISTORY
Students: Pau Garcia, José Atencia, Victor Falcon, Fernando Almendro, Bianca Maria Cocosilă, Tudor Florin Bradea. The team decided to highlight the way wine brings people together and encourages interactions between them. The story illustrated with the help of videomapping techniques is the journey of an amphora (one of the symbols of the city of Emporion) from the port to the middle of a symposium. The facade of the stone building of the museum was the support on which the story unfolded, its architectural elements (windows, for example), becoming parts of the narrative. The tradition of the mosaic (a finishing technique abundantly present in Emporion) has been specially highlighted, making a parallel between its texture and the digital texture of the media interface.
Team 2. DIWINE LIBERATION
Students: Anna Cuello, Mónica González, Núria Vaquero, Nicoleta Mateoiu, Simina Haiduc. The designed animation portrays a night of celebration, mystery and liberation, under the eyes of the god who embodies the essence of wine, Dionysos. The scenario embodies the return of the god to the ancient Emporion, in search of wine, on which occasion he discovers the ritual of the Maenads, who are impressed by his presence. Wine represents the connecting element between the various points of the scenario, the elixir of life, and for the dancing nymphs the symbol of freedom and expressiveness, while for men it is the essential drink that awakens their inner desires.
Team 3. SIMUL PER VINUM
Students: Elna Prat, Elía Martí, Cecilia Vargas, Laetitia Clement, Iulia Camelia Mocanu, Georgiana Andreea Voinescu, Eduard Petru Cristea. The concept of the project is located at the intersection of mythology, navigation, commerce, traditions and landscape, wine being the key element that connects them all. The project's graphics is correlated with the historical-archaeological context: the orange color of the terra-cotta (the material from which the famous amphorae used to store wine were made) and the CALIGULA DODGY font, reminiscent of the inscriptions of the Greco-Roman world, are used. The Latin name of the project also refers to the idea of socialization and communication through wine, which becomes their catalyst.
Team 4. GRAPES OF GLORY
Students: Antonio Manuel Weston Arenas, Bruna Lima Caracciolo, Guillem Franco Garriga, Maria-Cristina Barbălată, Alexandra Cristiana Roșca. The project traces the journey of wine through space and time, from ancient Mesopotamia (around 6000 BC) to the coasts of Asia Minor, and then, from the Mediterranean coast, to the Iberian coasts. In ancient Greece, wine flowed freely, accompanying poetry, philosophy and the birth of democracy. The tradition of the symposium thus began, between people of the same social status, wine facilitating political discussions. From ancient rituals to modern pleasures, the history of wine is a story of passion, perseverance and the eternal attraction of its ineffable aroma.
Text by: Codina Dușoiu
More information on:
https://www.canal10.cat/video/24755-la-cultura-del-vi-a-lantiga-emporion-protagonista-del-sete-workshop-dempuries