Παρουσίαση/Προβολή

(ARCH703) -  Δήμητρα Κατσώτα

Περιγραφή Μαθήματος

ARCHITECTURES OF TOURISM
State, Market and the Transformation of the Historic City
The Case of Nauplion

 

Tourism has been a formative force in shaping the modern Greek landscape since the second half of the twentieth century. From the post-war state project of developing a national tourism infrastructure -most notably the GNTO Xenia programme- to the rise of larger-scale private hotel developments and, more recently, the dispersed remaking of historic urban fabrics through boutique hospitality and short-term rentals, tourism is not only an economic activity but a spatial and architectural enterprise. This elective seminar investigates how state planning, private investment and market diffusion have, in different periods, reconfigured the historic city, its building stock, public spaces, and everyday life.
During Spring Semester 2025-26, Nauplion serves as the primary case study. Initially shaped as a carefully curated national destination through state initiatives -Amphitryon Hotel, Xenia Hotels, the Acronauplia complex, Arvanitia Beach, and its linkage to the
archaeological sites of Mycenae and Epidaurus- the city later absorbed large-scale private hotel insertions and lately undergoes an intensive, dispersed expansion of boutique accommodation and short-term rentals. The coexistence of neglected and underutilised state infrastructures and saturated private tourism growth reveals a critical spatial paradox.
The seminar positions Nauplion within the wider discourse on ‘consumed’ tourist cities and develops a research framework based on evidence and projection. Through archival research, typological classification, mapping, and photographic documentation, participants will compile, interpret and project data on tourism’s spatial footprint and its evolution from state-led infrastructure to market-driven diffusion. The seminar’s output is an assessment and critique of ongoing transformations, articulated as directions, rather than proposals, for what the city is becoming. The collective research and editorial project will culminate in a curated Atlas of Tourism: Nauplion 1950-2026, a comparative, data-based archive that synthesises findings across the semester.

Ημερομηνία δημιουργίας

Τρίτη 3 Μαρτίου 2026