“…it would be in the best interest of
SARCHA and its associates to remain committed to its constitutional aim: to
research the impact of the political on architecture and city conditions and
experiment with research topics that seek to imaging the possibility of
self-government and the in common reassembling of the cities (the city of
Athens in particular). This is far removed from the ‘third way’ (Karl Marx with
Milton Friedman) approach [Alfredo Brillembourg UTT, ETH] presented in [his]
opening talk [22/10/2013] as the overall vision for the ‘Re-activating - 101
ideas for Athens’.”
This is an excerpt
from the letter sent to the ETH Chair of Architecture and Urban Design and
Urban Think Tank (UTT) director prof. A. Brillemburg, following discussions for a possible collaboration of SARCHA
in the Re-activating Athens UTT_ETH project. (full text further below).
IMPORTANT: Listen to the panel discussion at the DEMOS London Event and see the Submitted Ideas at www.demos.sarcha.gr We
have expected to bring DEMOS to a next stage through the Re-activate Athens; this
was a reason for entering into discussions with the UTT_ETH. However, DEMOS could not fit into the logic of the ‘101 ideas for the city’. SARCHA is looking
for other ways and collaborations to take DEMOS at its next stage and we shall
keep you informed.
From:
SARCHA [mailto:info@sarcha.gr]
Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:37 PM
To: 'ALFREDO BRILLEMBOURG'
Subject: SARCHA and the AUTT_ETH programme
Sent: Friday, November 01, 2013 4:37 PM
To: 'ALFREDO BRILLEMBOURG'
Subject: SARCHA and the AUTT_ETH programme
Dear Alfredo,
Following our last week’s conversation on the
phone and in an attempt to find a way to collaborate, a SARCHA team attended
the UTT_ETH presentation in Athens, and our representative participated at
brainstorming meetings in the following day.
From our representative’s report we understood
that SARCHA’s input in the re-activating Athens programme strictly concerns a
collaborative drafting / implementing / processing of questionnaires for all
areas of the project and a kind of secretarial/event organizer role within the
HSAP building.
We very much understand the value of questionnaires,
which require highly specialized knowledge and painstaking work. However,
SARCHA does not have any special interest in drafting questionnaires in general
-unless related to targeted and intensively studied city areas. On the
other hand, it would have been highly problematic to undertake a role of
‘service provider’ as event organizer within the HSAP building; SARCHA takes up
this role only for events closely related to its research programme.
SARCHA members of committees discussed in
length and with much consideration the information provided by our
representative. They concluded that it would be in the best interest of SARCHA
and its associates to remain committed to its constitutional aim: to research
the impact of the political on architecture and city conditions and experiment
with research topics that seek to imaging the possibility of self-government
and the in common reassembling of the cities (the city of Athens in
particular). This is far removed from the ‘third way’ (Karl Marx with Milton Friedman)
approach you presented in your opening talk [22/10/2013] as the overall vision
for the “Re-activating - 101 ideas for Athens”. It is rather ‘unchartered
waters’ that SARCHA is opting for and this seems to sit uncomfortably with
already existing models to be transplanted / re-applied to Athens.
Following so many months of discussions and
exchange and now that the brief of AUTT_ETH starts to take shape, it seems
clear that SARCHA’s position and vision is of another type. As clearly
formulated in our draft contact, our input can be included in your project only
as a case apart, as independent work. We understand that this cannot be
accepted and thus unfortunately no collaboration can ensue.
We hope we have the chance to discuss in length
this divergence of ideas which SARCHA considers it could enrich the UTT_ETH
project.
All the best
On behalf of SARCHA
Dr Maria Theodorou
