To Meet Galileo on Day Fourteen is, initially, a response and an indignation to a widespread indifference towards buildings that are considered ‘architecturally insignificant’. It is often, that these buildings are the ones to hold the most valuable traces of the collective memory. The abandoned prison of Gjilan—the case study of this exploration—is the anchor point through which decades of history can be unfolded. Streets, squares, buildings, rooms, walls, doors and windows, will collectively draw the undiscovered links of the city. Engaging and experimenting with various methods of documentation, the production of architectural artefacts will become the tool through which this dark history is maintained.
Re-discovering this political prison in this master dissertation is first and foremost an act of care. To care is to explore, to appreciate, to maintain, to transform—to care is to curate what is already there.