Project by Akshara Vinayagam @akshara_vinayagam
Screen of Living: Karagiozis and the Architecture of the Everyday reinterprets the Athenian polykatikia through the spatial logic of Karagiozis shadow puppetry. Located in Kypseli, at Agios Georgios Square, the project engages a context where domestic life is already partially visible within a dense, socially active urban fabric. Drawing from puppetry’s use of light, screens, and fragmented figures, the building replaces conventional walls with layered elements like fabric screens, frosted glass, and railings to construct gradients of visibility rather than fixed boundaries. Domestic activities such as cooking, washing, and resting are treated as performative scenes, staged across a vertically organized section. Light and translucency transform the building into a dynamic surface where silhouettes, movement, and occupation are continuously revealed and obscured. In this way, the project positions architecture as a mediating screen between private and public life, reframing the home as a site of collective visibility and everyday performance.
