Pyros Real Estate Agency
Pyros is a fictional real estate agency selling burnt houses in Greece. There are ten houses for sale,
referred to
specific wildfires that occurred in the recent history of the country; not all the properties have a building
permit.
Pyros Real Estate office setup
Corporate flyers
Agency booklets
Houses for sale
Instead of rooms and square meters, the description of the houses for sale tells something about
the wildfire history of the country. The agency has several branches in various regions of the country,
exactly
where have been registered the highest number of illegal buildings (Greek Technical Chamber, 2011) and
wildfires: it’s a subtle trick for visualizing the core of the research.
A selection of the photos received
This speculative project started with 336 photos of Athens received by my Greek classmate
Angelikki: she spent some days in the seaside settlement of Neos Voutzas (eastern Attica) photographing what
was
left of the village, completely burnt after the fire of summer 2018. The Attica wildfires caused 100
fatalities,
about 172 victims, and over one thousand buildings damaged.
Examining the topic in-depth, it is clear how the lack of infrastructure of Neos Voutzas (like in
many other Greek cities) has been one of the factors of this disaster. Several properties were built too close
to the forest area and along the coastline, without following the urban plan, which blocked the escape routes.
But, concurrently with new elections, the owners can make an application for legalizing their properties.
Infographic visualising the wildfires registered in the country in the past 10 decade
Most of the fires in Greece are caused by arsonists (included the one in Neos Voutzas) or for
clearing the land; in some cases, both the arsons and the illegal constructions are linked with real estate
development. There isn’t any official declaration from the politicians, but the situation is taken for granted
among the citizens.
Designing a real estate agency of burnt houses was a way to overstate the situation and raise public
awareness,
but it doesn’t go too far from reality: among the photos, there was already a sheet of paper hanged on a burnt
house with a request for buying it.
Academic project
Design Academy Eindhoven
Year
2018