THE UNIQUE EXHIBITION ‘ THE SCHOOL OF ATHENS’ BRINGS TOGETHER ACADEMIC SPACES FROM DIFFERENT AGES

‘The School of Athens’ Exhibition, part of the Greek Pavilion of the 16th Venice Architectural Biennale, is a unique architectural almanac that traces and brings together academic spaces from different periods of history and from different parts of the world for the first time.

The exposition and its name, ‘The School of Athens’, was inspired by the most famous Raphael fresco. The masterpiece of the Renaissance artist shows all the greatest mathematicians, philosophers and scientists of the classical antiquity, gathered together, sharing their ideas and learning from one another. All these figures lived during different periods of time, but in Raphael's fresco they are gathered together under one roof.

‘The School of Athens’ architectural project also aims to bring together academic "achievements" from different ages, not "minds", but the spaces in which they communicated with their students. For the first time, visitors will be able to see physical models of seventy different academic spaces from different eras and latitudes, realized and unrealized. All models in ‘The School of Athens’ Exposition are printed on the same scale - 1: 200 - and show only the parts of the university identified as open spaces, vacant and non-formal learning places. The closed classrooms are excluded.

The ETEM team was impressed by the monumental work put into the display and the company supports the exhibition so that more people can become familiar with the unique scientific work. "For ETEM it is a mission to support such ongoing and evolving research projects which, on the one hand, shall be of benefit to the branch experts and on the other hand, interesting to the broader audience. ‘Throughout history, Architects have been experimenting with different spatial strategies to create "free spaces" and I think ‘The School of Athens’ shows us the best of them’, said Ioannis Hrisafis, ‘Operations’ Director at ETEM

‘The School of Athens’ project is a kind of ‘free space’ training. The exposition has now been expanded and redesigned for its new presentation. The models of academic spaces are mounted at the end of vertical steel bars, raised to waist height for easy viewing from all angles and organized in a grid that fills the pavilion equally in all directions. The models are complemented by data, drawings and images from each school, which allow further comparison of projects.

The visitors shall have the opportunity to visit ‘The School of Athens’ exhibition until May 17 at Benaki Museum in Athens.