Exhibition - CMA 2018 Chania

Piliko has organised more than 7 major construction workshops in Greece and abroad. These were taught by, or co-organized with, established experts (or organisations) in earthen architecture aimed at teaching professionals (mainly engineers) techniques of building with natural materials.

Several workshops have been offered to national and international students of the Technical University of Crete (T.U.C.), unemployed people and primary school pupils. In collaboration with T.U.C. and the Centre of Mediterranean Architecture (C.M.A.), Piliko has organized two more conferences in the past (2011 & 2013) with invited speakers from Greece and abroad, open to the general public. Within the field of research, Piliko has participated in various events and delivered research work. Piliko, open to networking, has set concrete links to:

• Associazione Internazionale Citta della Terra Cruda (Italy); • Red PROTERRA, Ibero-American network of Earthen Architecture and Construction; • Technical University of Crete, School of Architecture

C.M.A. 2018 , Chania Installation by: Piliko team and Voltes

CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE & NATURAL MATERIALS

Exhibition - C.M.A. 2018, Chania

In this complex and hyper-technological age, the question often arises whether we can produce architecture with the use of simple building techniques and processes, with natural raw materials like clay. This exhibition attempts to answer this seemingly simple question by presenting projects from diverse geographical regions and environmental conditions. Before that, a basic question that begs for answers is this: why should we seek the use of natural and recyclable materials in architectural design and construction? There is a significant environmental cost caused by the vast utilization of processed material products of the industrial and post-industrial eras, in opposition to natural materials which most often meet sustainability criteria. Moreover, the use of natural building materials has been documented since prehistoric times, thus accumulating valuable cultural significance. In an effort to showcase the use of natural materials in construction, the “Piliko” team has invited architects, civil engineers and design teams that specialize in natural construction and its various techniques, to present their realized projects. We deeply thank them for their enthusiastic response. The projects that are being presented could be split geographically into the following 3 groups: the Balkan Peninsula (mainly Greece), Western Europe, and South America. Concerning the type of the project presented, the following groups emerge: conservation and promotion of existing earthen buildings, experimental construction projects and new projects.