Is it possible to transform the centre of Athens? Having covered all angles when discussing the problems and the discomfort caused by the current situation, what else is there to do? In a time of deep economic recession, Athens is called to find a different way to solve its problems and claim a place amongst today’s major European metropolises.
Within
the framework of its public benefit activity, the Onassis Foundation
responds to the present need for a reviving project by funding and
organizing a European Architectural Competition for the creation of a
new city centre for Athens, focusing on and around Panepistimiou Street.
The objective of this initiative is to improve the everyday life of
Athenian citizens, allowing the accomplishment of the vision for quality
of life in the Greek capital.
Nowhere in the
world a unique avenue of an emblematic metropolis with a rich
architecture, quality of images, variety of functions that could promote
the city’s competitiveness, has been reserved exclusively for traffic.
Panepistimiou Street has been transformed into a mere driveway and the
result is depressing, especially if one thinks of the whole downgrading
of the centre of Athens. Deprived of contemporary models and inspiring
proposals that could reverse the situation, the financial and
administrative centre of the city is forced to an environmental, social
and financial disaster. Even the infamous “trilogy” area that consists
of the wonderful architectural ensemble upon which the character of the
city is reflected, is subject to downgrading, thus proving that the
crisis has spread from the Gerani area and Omonoia Square to
Panepistimiou Street. Today, more than ever, we have the right to become
visionaries while remaining realists. This is the right time to
re-think Athens.
Europe supports the
attractiveness of European cities through new funding programs that
focus on the concept of a “creative” Europe. In their effort to
distinguish themselves, cities highlight their advantages, give life to
their visions and organize themselves based on cultural networks. Their
interest focuses on quality of life, trying to become more
people-friendly, combining work, personal life and pleasure. Aiming at a
sustainable mobility, central areas and main arteries become pedestrian
zones, creating a different, attractive, cosmopolitan urban geography.
Similarly, Athens can take an important step towards breathing life into
the centre, forming a different perception for the upgrade and
re-organization of its public space.
The
“Re-think-Athens” project is a multifaceted intervention centered on
Panepistimiou street, extending from Amalias Avenue to Patission Street
and ending at a brand new Omonoia Square. Its main objective is to stop
the increasing downgrading and to revive the centre of Athens with
multiple functions related to trade, services, housing, entertainment
and culture while simultaneously encouraging several activities. The
intervention at Amalias Avenue, Omonoia Square and Patission Street will
form a ring that will link the pedestrian zone of Dionysius Areopagitus
and the new Acropolis Museum with the Archaeological Museum and Omonoia
Square with the areas of Monastiraki and Thisseio, thus connecting the
liveliness of the modern city with the archaeological sites and tourism.
The
idea for the creation of a new city centre centered on Panepistimiou
Street is quite old. The “Re-think-Athens” intervention offers a
contemporary, fundamental change of habits in the way we use the city by
placing people in the centre of things. The value of the area is too
high to be used solely as a means of transit for cars. The centre can be
accessed by public transportation, it can reconnect its distant areas
thus resulting in a creative dialogue among its parts and it can
transform its present drawbacks into places of value, highlighting its
modern face. The quest for quality upon forming this contemporary
profile leads to the search for a form of architecture that can
introduce the incorporation of sustainable development in the city, in a
decisive, creative and innovative way. For this reason, this European
competition has been announced, aiming to collect proposals that will
awaken, inspire and reveal options that reflect the character of the
city and promote a healthy albeit futuristic image of a lively
metropolis that keeps evolving.
A crucial
question is: can we cope with the implementation cost of this
intervention? Yes, we can, because the project will be financed with
European funds designed for integrated interventions which aim at
improving the competitiveness of cities without depriving them of
projects that will be implemented through other programmes. The
consequences of the increasing devastation and decline of the city
centre are, undoubtedly, even more costly. The architectural
reorganization of the public space is a low cost project of
approximately 25 million euros. The expenditure on the tram line project
is much higher albeit rewarding. The total cost of the intervention,
which includes the tramline ending at Ano Patissia, will not exceed 200
million euros (VAT included). This amount corresponds to the cost of a
major highway interchange.
In any case, there
is an urgent need to formulate a wide visional and sustainable proposal
for the reconstruction of the city centre, formed during a crucial
period where social, economic, political, demographic and ecological
challenges are seeking a way out. This vision is worth to be built with
an open mind, unaffected by conventional eliminations in order to lead
to wonderful and unexpected versions of the city centre. Thus, it must
be powerful and convincing and it should be accompanied by a complete
change in the way we have been using the centre of the city during the
last few decades, adopting modern practices.
Furthermore,
the intervention in and around Panepistimiou Street, will link smaller
individual or collective creative interventions and initiatives
regarding the city centre. It marks the shift in perception in relation
to traffic around the centre of the city, because today the conditions
that define traffic design are different since they focus on the
prevention of intersections. The city centre should be enjoyed by its
citizens and thus a development that takes into consideration not only
the deadlocks but the actual circumstances as well should be
achieved.The reconstruction of the centre reflects city life as a giant
kaleidoscope that attracts attention and adds value to the city. A
vibrant place of high interest, a place with an intense pulse, with a
24-hour tram operation and with the Omonoia Square as its heart, will be
a creative response to the crisis, will give life back to trade and
will improve the quality of life at the city centre, so that it is
re-inhabited and it reclaims its past dynamic.
The
city centre will no longer be just a car crossing space. It can and
should be the destination for more people to enjoy walking and spending
time there. The new public space will be the breeding ground for all
activities of the centre, where the various expressions of everyday
life, with places of public services, entertainment and play for all
ages and for all people, without exclusions, will be developed.
So, let us ‘Re-think-Athens’; after all, there is no better way to predict the future than to design it ourselves!
