Heterotopia is an “other” space that truly exists within the city, yet operates differently from “ordinary” spaces, as it is assigned different uses, rules, and meanings. In my selected site in the old town of Corfu, heterotopic conditions emerge in parts of the public space that display abandonment and decay: mold, dampness, peeling layers on walls, empty or broken windows, and discarded or damaged objects.

These places are not simply “dirty” or “old,” but spaces that retain traces of previous life and create a different experience of time, as the accumulation of decay and memory becomes visible upon them. Abandoned buildings function as thresholds between inside and outside (private–public), where openings or windows suggest habitation, yet in reality reveal absence.

In this way, within the same urban fabric, another “parallel” space appears, giving public space a different meaning—that of neglect and silence—transforming it into a material condition.

Concepts:Public space,  Abandonment,  Decay,  Dampness / mold,  Boundary (inside / outside),  Time,  Memory, Absence