brief description
Prosthetic Hybrids explores innovative approaches to prosthetic fabrics along the Mediterranean Coast, aiming to establish a new ecological paradigm for urban inhabitation in the 21st century. The project proposes a flexible landscape through infrastructural interventions along the coastline and within the waterscape, accommodating the movement of citizens, vessels, and vehicles. It integrates sustainable technologies, harnessing energy from physical forces, and addresses the city's need for green spaces. The existing port landscape, considered an urban monument, is revitalized by removing obsolete infrastructures and preserving its essence. The old port of Patras, a historic Mediterranean city that has served as a hub for passengers and merchant ships for centuries, currently lacks vibrancy as a public space and active port. The proposal seeks to transform the area into a truly inhabited space for both citizens and visitors, redefining its spatial character. It comprises two infrastructural prosthetic structures: a coastal infrastructure and a flexible network of floating components within the harbor basins. The coastal infrastructure features a hybrid structure that integrates semi-transparent units, green spaces, solid surfaces, electrical supply systems, and rainwater collection. It creates spaces both beneath and above it, accommodating a variety of activities and events. The floating network consists of transformable units that can form a dynamic archipelago, adapting to seasonal needs and temporary events such as additional swimming pools for watersports or extra "gulfs" for marine parking. These units are equipped with electrical and watering supply networks, which expand as they connect with each other. Their specific assembly typologies enable efficient mass production and facilitate their transformability. The diverse population of floating units gives rise to a growing new ground, offering different scales, coastlines, and hybrid landscapes. The port and the sea act as the foundation for these prosthetic elements. The coastal zones offer new spatial experiences, allowing people to circulate along the old pier, beneath shaded areas of varying intensities, and amidst hanging gardens. Elevated pathways provide different perspectives of the area that currently remain inaccessible. Additionally, visitors can explore the new archipelago, access the breakwater adjacent to floating forests, and engage in water activities. The expansion of the proposal onto the breakwater zone establishes a cyclic circulation, offering a continuous flow of diverse experiences from the coast to this area. Through Prosthetic Hybrids, we envision a transformative intervention that brings about a symbiotic relationship between the built environment, natural elements, and human activities, creating an enriching and dynamic urban landscape.