"HOROLOGION"

Restitution of the Piraeus Clock Tower / transfigurations of the sundial.

Architects: S. Martinos, A.Ntalas, G. Giannoutsos, A. Katsakiori, V. Gialia
 

The Piraeus Tower was erected on the site of a 19th century Clock building that used to be a significant point of reference for the city and its inhabitants. In order to restitute its presence, we suggest the redesign of the Tower façade as a system of urban sundials.

The formerly solid and disproportionate mass of the old tower is divided into four convex faceted volumes that may assume the function of sundial during each of the year’s four seasons. Time, during the day, is read through the shadow the tower casts upon its own self. Specifically, every face will be shaded differently in the course of time, every day of the year. As a result, the massive building will have an ever changing appearance, but in a way that remains meaningful to the city.

The required additional staircase is shaped into a tall pointed element that casts its shadow upon the surrounding cityscape, acting asgnomon of a horizontal dial.

The shared ability to read the code in a particular sundial may contribute significantly to a sense of collective identity, and this is why sundials are often placed in prominent places at historical cities or sites.