Post by DECA Architecture

In 2019 we spent a year doing fieldwork about the area of Poulati on Sifnos, otherwise known as ‘ο κήπος’ -the garden- because of its fertility. We were intrigued by the water-management infrastructure and traditions of the area. Created by DECA Architecture as part of the European Commission’s STARTS 4Water program, the project documents a disappearing agricultural heritage while highlighting the urgent need for sustainable water strategies in the Cyclades. As tourism reshapes the islands and traditional infrastructure fades, Learning from Poulati looks towards the past, in an effort to document an important piece of vernacular tradition which is about to disappear. It also looks at the present, to express the urgent need for new sustainable strategies and infrastucture, to fulfill the increasing water needs of the islands. Commissioned by Ohi Pezoume Performing Arts Company with the support of the Greek Ministry of Culture and the European Union STARTS program. During the last twenty years, our architectural practice has taken us to most of the Cyclades where we have experienced firsthand how water is one of the most fragile and mismanaged resources on the arid island landscapes. We have understood that the current trend of touristic development is going faster than the bearing capacity of the islands. This realization has had an important influence on our design priorities, and it has also triggered our curiosity to research contemporary and traditional practices of water management. ‘Learning from Poulati’ was an installation in two parts, placed on the central square of Appolonia, the largest settlement on Sifnos, from July 23rd to September 5th 2022.The installation is about water: The first part, a video projection on a round physical model, documents the remarkable traditional water-management system of Poulati—terraces, cisterns, irrigation channels, and springs that sustained agriculture for centuries. The intention of this installation is to document an important example of the vernacular water management traditions, before the unmaintained infrastructure disintegrates back into the land. The second part, a triangular electronic totem pole, brings the conversation into the present. It is a gauge that shows how much water is available in the three primary water tanks of the island. It aspires to provoke users to participate in the decision making for the management of water in an informed way and to create awareness on the climate emergency.