ATHENS_City of Architectures -Urban Growth and the development of Polykatoikia-
.Dimitrios Sotiropoulos.
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ATHENS_City of Architectures -Urban Growth and the development of PolykatoikiaA yearlong thesis studio held at the TU Delft in the academic year 2012-2013 under the Chair of Explore Lab. TU Delft is an academic laboratory for design-based research in architecture, urbanism, landscape, and other issues related to the built environment. It is a foundation under Netherlands law, subsidized by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. Research Mentors: Heidi Sohn, Stavros Kousoulas Design Mentors: Tom Avermaete, Jorge Mejia,
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Contents
01. Introduction
p.5
38N24E
p.6
02. Research Statement
p.9
Statement Research questions
p.10 p.12
03. Athens Urban History
p.15 p.16 p.18 p.22 p.28 p.32 p.36 p.40
Timeline 1833-1919 1919-1941 1941-1975 1975-1990 1990-2008 2008-2013 04. Evolution of the Urban Block
p.45
1833-1919 1919-1941 1941-1975 1975-1990 1990-2013 Conclusive statements
p.48 p.50 p.52 p.54 p.56 p.58
05. City Centre
p.61 p.62 p.64 p.66
Patission Street University District Urban Maps 06. Site Analysis
p.69 p.70 p.71 p.74 p.76 p.78 p.80 p.82 p.88 p.92
Agios Nikolaos Transport-Conflict Maps Important Actors Axonometric Sections Emptyness Courtyards Roof Conclusive Statements 07. Strategy
p.95 p.96 p.98
Intentions Precedents 08. Possible Actions
p.105 p.106
Pilotis|Passage|Courtyard 09. Bibliography
p.113
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01_INTRODUCTION
“The healthy social life is found when in the mirror of each human soul the whole community is shaped and when in the community lives the strength of each human soul.�
Rudolf Steiner
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38N24E
Architects regularly confront the question of how urban transformation takes place. It is dangerous to search for an urban model representative for every city since the economic, political and cultural structure plays a significant role in the development of urban space. This research will focus on the area of the Mediterranean and will use as a case study the city of Athens. We may see the Mediterranean as a complex mosaic. It is a sea between lands. Forming the link between three continents, it has a long history as a centre of commercial and cultural exchange. On the other hand, it has also been a space of conflict between different populations resulting in the formation of a very heterogeneous and unique environment. During the 20th century the cities of the south followed the northern European urban model resulting in similar population levels. The phenomenon of over-urbanization was accelerated by the forces of land speculation which was fostered by a general disobedient attitude towards the laws and master planning. In addition, uncontrolled immigrant waves had consequences on the social and urban organization resulting in heterogeneous and diverse urban conditions. In this sense, cities like Rome, Madrid and especially Athens are demographically new cities. Quite often it is argued that urban growth in Athens was a result of an informal and spontaneous urban process. Countering this belief the research will study the precise building regulations as well as the historical and geopolitical circumstances that gave the city its present form.
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Urban Models
.Formal | Informal.
7
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02_RESEARCH STATEMENT
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Studio Statement
The research studies the shifting role that the Polykatoikia model has played in the Topdown decision process and diverse socio-spatial transformations in Athens. In the case of Athens, a top-down decision process was formed through the continuous exchange between the private domain and the state. In terms of urban growth, the former was generating profit by constructing the urban mass while the latter was responsible for providing an abstract regulatory framework to make that possible. Moreover, the typology of Polykatoikia will be regarded as the key product of Athenian urban history; an architectural symbol, which developed within a regulatory system that provided precise rules regarding the unit of the Polykatoikia but did not take into account its relationship to the city as a whole. Urban growth and its relationship with changes in policy and typology of housing, is studied via a historical analysis of urban transformations in five periods. First, is the period of 1843-1922 in which Athens becomes the capital of the newly established Greek State. Since the birth of the Greek capital the relationship between the state and private sector started to form itself. This resulted from the division of the land to multiple owners which did not allow the development of a coherent masterplan. In the same time the social division between a bourgeoisie city centre and the working class informal settlements on the periphery becomes visible. The second period is between 1922-1941 and focuses on the shift in population due to an increased immigration flow from Minor Asia. It is during that time that the first masterplan is implemented in order to point out the locations for new neighbourhoods that could house the new population. Interestingly enough, these are positioned in a safe distance from the city centre to avoid social interaction between the higher and lower class making visible the division between the east and west part of the city. Simultaneously, the law of horizontal property is being implemented as well as the percentage of buildable space is increased significantly. It is during that period that the typology of Polykatoikia as an archetype of the urban fabric takes place for the first time. During the period of 1941-1975, Athens changes dramatically by the turn of the state towards American Ideals. It was actually after the civil war, which ended with the defeat of the Communist forces, that the new democratic government put forward a plan to prevent the rebellious potential of the working class. In order to avoid big industrial concentrations it promoted a small scale building economy that could fragment and thus control the population. To make that possible, the state introduced the law of Antiparochi, the exchange of land for built private space, which allowed the erection of new buildings with the minimum amount of capital. Polykatoikia, with its generic domino struc-
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ture, allowed the low skilled worker and the small entrepreneur to actively participate in the construction sector which resulted in the rapid increase of density in the city centre. In this way the Polykatoikia model has transformed the city itself into a gigantic factory where the massive development of this building process gave access to private property and produced a middle-class that was simultaneously producer and consumer of space. The period of 1975-1990 involves Greece’s entry to the European Union which resulted in a long term economic growth based on an intense exploitation of built space. The Urban Restructuring Project in 1985 focused on the increasing rate of new neighbourhoods and proposed the general division of Athens in numerous centres thus promoting the notion of smaller and unified communities. However, due to the reactions of private developers this planning measure was not implemented. Finally, between 1990-2013 starts with the suburbanization of Athens and the abandonment of the city centre, making even more apparent the social segregation within the different neighbourhoods. Building regulations responded in favour of suburban growth thus accelerating the abandonment rates. During the global economic crisis, social conflict and violence are intensified resulting in unpredicted social behaviours. Certain social groups, such as immigrants, homeless and drug addicts inhabit the city centre while the state does not offer alternatives for their social integration. In this sense, these groups are forming a moving unwanted mass which remains marginalized. In conclusion, this analysis focuses on the way Athens based its economy on construction fostered by a speculative housing market which did not consider social sustainability as a prerequisite for city growth. The fragmentation of the city was accelerated due to the laisseiz-fair policy of construction sector, while its urban transformation formed today’s lack of common space. It becomes evident that the urban growth of Post-War Athens was greatly affected by the architecture of the Polykatoikia which in turn raises the question of how to achieve a largescale reform of the city by altering this exact typology. How is it possible to overcome the fragmentation triggered by the development of Polykatoikia and work towards the reconstruction of collective urban formations? Architecturally, this might be possible by exposing the generic nature of the Polykatoikia and providing a design strategy whose scope of development goes beyond the pixel of the single building. Therefore, it could provide a catalogue of architectural interventions that could inverse the current fragmented urban mass into collective urban forms.
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Research Questions
1. What are the important moments and requlations in the evolution of Polykatoikia that characterised its social role? 2. How does each moment reflect on the Top-down decision process and the typology of Polykatoikia? 3. How could the evolution of the urban block indicate this process in the typology of polykatoikia?
4. What are the consequences of that process in the developement of the polykatoikia today?
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Aerial View of the Athenian urban carpet. In the center of the image the domino model reveals the structure of the whole city s: Internet source
.Polykatoikia.
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03_ATHENS URBAN HISTORY
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GLOBAL
1820
1830
1827: Treaty of London
1840
POLITICS
1827: From Kapodistrias to Otto
1850
1843: Military coup and revolution caused by the King’s refusal to grant a constitution. Andreas Metaxas Constitutional Prime Minister of Greece.
1843: From Absolute to Constitutional Monarchy First National Elections
ECONOMICS
Primary economy Argriculture sector
Loan to Greece from the Great Powers
1860
1848: Communist 1850: Pacifico incident. Blockade of the port of Manifesto Piraeus by the British fleet.
1832: Independent Greek State Absolute Monarchy
NEW BORN CITY
1870
1880
1890
PROTOMODERN CITY 1990
1878: Treaty of Berlin.
1864: Britain donates the Ionian Islands to Greece
1862: Military coup. Otto leaves the throne and the
1910
1920
1930
1912-1913 1914-1918 1923 Treaty of Domino WW I Lausanne structure by Corbusier
1897 Greco-Turkish War.
1914: Collective labor agreement, social security for workers
1929 Great Crash
1940 1936 Spanish Civil War
1923: Venizelos's Liberal Party wins the elections.
First Communist Party
1910. Eleftherios Venizelos becomes Prime Minister of Greece.
1863: Prince William of Denmark becomes the new King of Greece, as George I.
1860: First Mechanised Factories in Piraeus Port
Donations from the Greek Diaspora
Primary sector Secondary sector Tertiary sector
Loans for the recovery for Minor Asia war.
Industustrial production increase.
1870: First Greek Banks
New Industry on the west of Athens
Population: 55:563 Rate 8.79%
SOCIAL
Population: 12.000
Population: 242.300 Rate 9.08%
First Public Buildings University of Athens Royal School of Arts
400,000 Greeks emigrate to America due to widespread unemployment and economic problems.
Division in East and West
1923: Minor Asia Population: 1.124.000 population exchange. Rate 3.35% Main labor force for industry
1911: Constitution, Right to Education, Public and State accredited education in any level
PHYSICAL SPACE
Social Conflicts regarding Master Plan
1833: First Masterplan (Kleanthis + Schaubert)
City Centre: Neoclassical Housing
1869: First Rail Way connecting
Outskirts: Informal Settlements
Athens with Peraeus
Social housing by the Refugee Welfare Committe
1896: Opening ceremonies of the first modern Olympic Games in Athens 1910: First tram
1844-1925: National land distributed to small landowners
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1927: law of Horizontal Ownership FIrst Polykatoikias
1940
POST WAR CITY 1950
EUROPEAN CITY
1960
1970
1969 R. Nixon elected presedent of the US
1961 Erection of Berlin wall
1945 1939-1945 United Nations WW I I Axis occupation Two Superpowers
GLOBAL CITY
1980 1979 Oil Crisis
1946-1949: Civil War
1990
1986 Chernobil
1967: Military Junta
2000
1989 1991 D e mol it i on Fall of Soviet of Berlin wall Union
1981: Greece enters the European Union
1974: Constantine Karamanlis returns. Democracy in Athens is restored
POST OLYMPIC CITY 2010
1999 Bologna Declaration
2003 2008 2001 09/11 Iraq War C r e d i t Crisis
2020
2012 Cyprus bailout
1993: Golden Dawn
2011: Golden Dawn enters the Parliament
1993:Andreas Papandreou with PASOK wins the general elections
2012:Antonis Samaras new prime minister
1996-2004:Kostas Simitis new president PASOK
1941:The National Liberation Front (EAM)
1948: Marshall Plan Prevent communism in Greece
TROIKA IMF
1999: Stock Market Crash 1989 Koskotas scandal 1952:Varvaresos study for economic development
1975: Industrial production decreases rapidly Construction sector increases
2001: Greece uses the Euros instead of Drahmas
2010: Construction sector decreased by 60%
2010: 1st Memorandum 2011: 2nd Memorandum
2012: 3nd 2013: Unployment Memorandum 27%
1993: Building Boom due to olympic games
Increase in Middle class
Population: 1.800.709 Rate 3.73%
Fragmentation of working class
1968: University reform under Greek orthodox beliefs and principals
1944: Dekemvriana
1973 Student protests in the National Technical University against Junta.
2004: Olymic games
1981: Educational reform.
Increased numbers of protests
2010: Demostrantions against IMF austerity meseures
New Immigrant flow Labor for construction University asylum 2008: Manifestations against state repression
Cultural Capital of Europe
1955: General Building Regulations
Antiparoxi: Land exchange for built private property
Polykatoikia as the generic type of living for all classes
Increased Fragmentation
1968 Increased percentage of land exploitation. Erection of landmark buildings
City center abandonment
1985: Athens Metropolitan plan
1977: Definition of historical center
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Conflict with Immigrants
Population: 3.850.768 Rate 0 .32%
2000: Olympic Games Infrastructure 2001: New International airport
1990: 2000: Suberbanisation Attiki odos Metro
2012 new wave of emigration
2009: Acropolis Museum
2012: Re-think Athens Competition
2009 Attica is ravaged by wildfires.
s: Dimitrakou, I. 路 Van der Pols, M. 路 Salonikidi, K. 路 Stamati, M. 路 Zioga, E., Fear and Loaning in Athens: Shifting Perspectives of Space,TU Delft, Urban Assymetries Studio, 2013
Urban History
1833-1919 In 1833 Athens becomes the capital of the newly established Greek state. This period was very influential for the future transformation of Athens. A new Masterplan was proposed that however was not fully implemented. Mainly, it was a time where the scarcity of financial resources together with internal conflicts did not provide the ground for long term policies to take place. King Otto had to revise the master plan in order to accommodate the needs of land owners and speculators. This policy resulted in the reduction of public facilities in favour of private interests. This marked the beginning of an on-going relationship between the private sector and the government which became interconnected links influencing the growth of the city either by negotiating the property lines and land values or by influencing the legal framework to achieve higher profits. The restructuring of the Greek state was mainly driven by the directions and influence of the Great Powers-Russia, Austro-Hungary and Great Britain in an effort to control and take advantage of the unique geopolitical position of Greece. Neoclassicism became the architectural and urban language that was struggling to revive the glorious ancient past of Greece. It was an effort to escape from the ottoman models of social structure towards a new European and in a certain extent capitalistic lifestyle.
Neoclassicism: An architectural language that tried to revive the ancient past of Greece. The national library is still one of the most important city landmarks. s: Georgios Saragiannis, Athens 1830-2000, Evolution-UrbanismTransport, Simetria, Athens, 2000
.National Library.
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In contrast to the monumental character of the city centre another very interesting aspect in terms of urban growth is the appearance of the first spontaneous settlements. These were self-built structures that housed the labour force needed to realise the projects for the modernization of the new born Greek capital. These areas were located in safe distance from the city centre in order to avoid social interaction thus forming from the right beginning the division between east and west. In this sense, Athens experiences two different urban growth models. On the one hand, the centre of Athens becomes the speculative area for the private domain while the outskirts of the city host the unwanted labour class in informal and illegal settlements. Up to 1880 Athens grew under a model of consumption enhanced by positioning the main public service facilities in the city centre while in the same time attracted the majority of foreign and domestic investments. In line with technological advances, Athens becomes the new centre of industrialization thus attracting new population from other cities that could not follow the fast paced growth of the capital.
The new masterplan was never implemented since reactions from the landowner did not allow a long term city planning to take place. s: Georgios Saragiannis, Athens 1830-2000, Evolution-UrbanismTransport, Simetria, Athens, 2000
.First Masterplan.
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.Neoclassical Housing.
Neoclassical Housing in the city centre. Expensive construction and high quality materials formed the facades of the buildings. Being up to three stories high they allowed the public life to unfold in the new capital of Greece. s: Georgios Saragiannis, Athens 1830-2000, Evolution-UrbanismTransport, Simetria, Athens, 2000
Informal self-built housing in the outscirts of the city. s: Georgios Saragiannis, Athens 1830-2000, Evolution-UrbanismTransport, Simetria, Athens, 2000
.Infromal Housing.
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1833-1919
Informal Settlements Neoclassical Housing
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Urban History
1919-1941 This period constitutes one the most critical regarding the urban transformation of Athens. The two World Wars and the Civil War right after had a great impact on the physical and social organization of the city. A great shift in population due to the increased immigration rates accelerated an unplanned urban growth. In the same time modernist ideas of zoning are implemented but without big success mainly due to reactions posed from land owners. Interestingly enough, the only urban plan implemented was that proposed by the Refugee Welfare Committee in 1920. Due to the large flow of refugees coming from Minor Asia, the need for immediate housing becomes evident. Immigrants formed an important labour force since they provided cheap working hands in a period of industrial growth. This urban expansion included possible locations for organizing new neighbourhoods that would not interfere with the social life of the city. For this reason they were located in a distance of 2-10 km outside the Athens Metropolitan Plan. However, such radius did not consider the future growth of the city and as a result today those neighborhoods occupy central locations in Athens. After so many years since their construction these buildings are still active being inhabited by the third generation of families. The relationship between the newly built and the old unwanted settlements mirrors in multiple ways characteristics of the Athenian context.
Nea Philadelphia. A refugee settlement which remains the most complete public housing program in the history of the country. s: Archive of the Municipality of Nea Philadelphia.
.Refugee Housing.
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During this period Athens experiences an accelerated urban growth that is being driven by the initiative of the private sector. The state becomes a distant viewer by providing a regulatory framework that gave even more incentives for land speculation and higher profits. In 1929 the law about horizontal property is implemented and opens the way for the typology of the Polykatoikia to immerge and to become the single typology that gave the city its present form. This law introduced numerous restrictions regarding the built mass but eventually the developers found many side ways to construct buildings to maximize profits.
Locations in a safe distance of 2-10 km outside the Athens Metropolitan Plan. s: Georgios Saragiannis, Athens 1830-2000, Evolution-UrbanismTransport, Simetria, Athens, 2000
.Masterplan.
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Urban History
1919-1941 In 1930 the typology of Polykatoikia (multi-apartment block)made its first appearance in the city centre and became the main living unit of the bourgeoisie class. It was the brave new landmark of the modern Greek capital and formed the new archetype of architecture that surpassed in importance and symbolism everything else in its immediate context. It was the most obvious symbol of modernism influencing the growth of Athens. The blue Polykatoikia especially was an exceptional example of the modernism movement in Greece and took its name for the unconventional blue colour of the facade. However, what rendered this project unique for its time was the architect’s intention to promote social interaction between the inhabitants. It was the first Polykatoikia that offered spaces for common use such as the terrace which was a vivid social space for many years. During his visit in Athens with CIAM, Le Corbusier himself expressed his admiration about this building by singing on the wall “c’est tres bonne”. Unfortunately this model was a unique gesture in Athens. Most of the Polykatoikia built during that period did not take into account the collective success of this project. In this sense, they became units of indifferent cohabitation.
The “Blue Polykatoikia” in Exarchia square, designed by K.Panagiotakos in 1933 s: Source: 20th Century Architecture in Greece, ed. by Condaratos, Savas, Wang, Wilfried, ( Frankfurt: Deutsches Architektur Museum, Prestel Publishers, 1999.
.Blue Polykatoikia.
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Rapid densification of the center through the unit of the polykatoikia s: Georgios Saragiannis, Athens 1830-2000, Evolution-UrbanismTransport, Simetria, Athens, 2000
.Polykayoikia Timeline.
25
1919-1941
Informal Settlements Polykatoikia Refugee Neighborhoods
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1919-1941
Informal Settlements Polykatoikia Refugee Neighborhoods
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Urban History
1941-1975 Another Crucial moment for the development of Athens was the diffusion of the traditional historical centre by demolishing old buildings and erecting new ones representative of the “New Greek Order�. During this period Greece experiences a sudden economic growth coupled by an increased in size middle class. These phenomena were mainly triggered by the implementation of the Marshal Plan which was representative of the shift of the Greek state towards American Ideals. In this sense, the marshal plan was an effort to modernize Greece mainly by the construction of big infrastructure projects. In December 1952 the Marshal Plan was also responsible for the first power plant to come on line. Four months later, a second joined the system. Both did so ahead of schedule. When the whole net was finally completed by 1956, a basic precondition for future Greek industrialization was in place. Electrification ranked as a priceless Marshall Plan legacy and an extraordinary engineering feat as well. The Plan helped to derail a Communist revolution, promoted market farming, improved agriculture and public health, rebuilt infrastructure, brought electrical power to the country, improved to some degree political structures and administration, founded a non-Communist trade movement, and provided more aid per capita than in any other Marshall Plan country.
Greek Army engineers repair a road. s: Barry Machado, In Search of a Usable Past: The Marshall Plan and Postwar Reconstruction Today,George C. Marshall Foundation, Virginia, 2007, p: 71
.New Infrastrucutre.
28
.Constuction Sector.
Paul Hoffman (center), the Greek government ECA liaison (left), and C. Tyler Wood (right) view a Marshall Plan publicity display, October 1950. s: Barry Machado, In Search of a Usable Past: The Marshall Plan and Postwar Reconstruction Today,George C. Marshall Foundation, Virginia, 2007, p: 68
Greek workmen grade the street in front of new housing constructed with the help of Marshall Plan funds s: Barry Machado, In Search of a Usable Past: The Marshall Plan and Postwar Reconstruction Today,George C. Marshall Foundation, Virginia, 2007, p: 63
.New Streets.
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Urban History
It was actually after the civil war, which ended with the defeat of the Communist forces, that the new democratic government put forward a plan to prevent the rebellious potential of the working class. In order to avoid big industrial concentrations it promoted a small scale building economy that could fragment and thus control the population Moreover, the Polykatoikia topology from being a bourgeoisie privilege, now it is promoted as the generic living unit for almost every class. Antiparochi, which is the exchange of land and construction between land owner and constructor, played a decisive role for the development of these projects. Polykatoikia, with its generic domino structure, allowed the low skilled worker and the small entrepreneur to actively participate in the construction sector which resulted in the rapid increase of density in the city centre. Simultaneously, a new legislation gave even more incentives for the erection of more buildings since the percentage of land exploitation was increased significantly. An eruption of new construction covers the Athenian context with concrete lava of Polykatoikia blocks. In addition, an increase of land value was considered as a positive growth indicator regardless the adverse social impact. The increase in rents resulted in the exclusion of the lower classes form the city center. On the other hand, there was an increase in illegal land appropriations and illegal land partitioning in favor of higher profits. In this sense, Athens is experiencing a tremendous urban growth towards multiple directions without any specific plan. To support the expansion of capital through the medium of the Polykatoikia, new infrastructure projects act as indicator for further development promoting the use of private cars instead of public transport.
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.Polykatoikia.
The workers became part of an urbanization process both as producers of the city and as small land owners or tenants. Athens experienced a radical exploitation of the territory and the Polykatoikia became a primal economical resource. s: Babousis, Manolis, Athens, Exadas, 1997
The Polykatoikia unit expands towards the periphery of Athens meeting the informal old settlements s: Philippides, Dimitris, “Town Planning in Greece�, 65-73, in 20th Century Architecture in Greece, ed. by Condaratos, Savas, Wang, Wilfried( Frankfurt: Deutsches Architektur Museum, Prestel Publishers, 1999), p.68.
.Formal | Informal.
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Urban History
1975-1990 During this period Greece is moving towards the European Union. Athens experiences a dramatic demographic growth, gathering 1/3 of the national population. The sudden economic growth together with many job opportunities offered by the fast paced industrial development attracted people from different parts of the country. The apparatus of Polykatoikia gave the answer to the pressing need for new housing resulting in new neighbourhoods around the city centre. The ownership of an apartment becomes a life ambition for many Athenians that considered private property as the mean to establish themselves in society. At the same time the architecture of the Polykatoikia itself, with its small scale and lack of collective spaces, has developed an urban ethos completely locked within its extreme individualism. The growing number of new neighborhoods asked for new planning measures to be introduced. In 1985 the establishment of the Urban Restructuring Project combined with the new Housing Law was an effort to contribute to the integration of these neighborhoods within the Athens Metropolitan Plan. It was the first time that a long-term vision about the city was proposed. This plan tried to take into account the aftermaths of the previous periods by focusing in the improvement and legalization of neighborhoods and heritage preservation. Despite the good intentions, the implementation was not very successful since they were not widely accepted, mainly by big contractors.
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.Athens Metropolitan Plan.
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.City Center.
Athens city centre in 1975. The image of the centre has not changed drastically since then. s: Georgios Saragiannis, Athens 1830-2000, Evolution-UrbanismTransport, Simetria, Athens, 2000
View of Patissia neighbourhood. An area which is greatly affected by the development of the Polykatoikia s: Georgios Saragiannis, Athens 1830-2000, Evolution-UrbanismTransport, Simetria, Athens, 2000
.High Density.
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Density Map
Polykatoikia High Density
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Urban History
1990-2008 Greece during the 90’s generated economic growth mainly by European Funds. Athens transformation was moving in line with a continually growing middle class. Their immerging power played a pivotal role in the future change of the city centre. More people started to participate in construction industry rendering it the main driver of national economy while in the same time the industrial sector is decreased rapidly. Due to increased construction Athens experiences a devaluation of public space in favour of private ones. The intense densification of the city coupled with an excessive use of private cars resulted to unprecedented pollution levels. In addition, an increased influx of immigrants inhabited the centre forming new social conflicts. The city centre was not any more an attractive pole for the middle class while the desire for more spacious houses triggered many citizens to abandon the city centre in favour of suburban settlement.Building regulations responded in favour of suburban growth thus accelerating the abandonment rates. Athens becomes a professional and commercial centre while residential developments find the suburbia more profitable. Athenians chose to be visitors and not residents of the city. Their old apartments were steadily losing their value and the incentives to properly maintain them were absent. For some, the city centre was a nostalgic memory while for others their new home.
Suburban development in the northern suburbs of Athens in 1975. This image has changed drastically since then. s: Georgios Saragiannis, Athens 1830-2000, Evolution-Urbanism-
.Suburban Housing.
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1990-2008
Immagrant Housing
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This period of excessive suburbanisation coincided with the preparation for the Olympic Games of 2004. This international event was considered as a important factor for the future evolution of the city. Infrastructure projects of various scales where scattered around the city triggering a gentrification process at the surrounding areas. In addition, the new international airport was built and two metro lines are introduced in the public transport system. The official vision was to render Athens as a competitive city that could take advantage of the Olympic infrastructure by using it in the future for cultural, leisure, sport and touristic activities. However, despite their regenerating appearance, they inflated the national depth and increased the country’s dependency to the European Union and international banks. In its turn, this over accumulation of depth paved the ground for the current economic crisis. Athens was presented as an attractive global destination which led to an uneven development between the centre and periphery. The focus was to upgrade peripheral poles while the centre was left without any serious intervention that could improve its condition. Instead only certain beautification projects took place that however ignored the real needs of the citizens.
.Immigrant Housing.
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Suberban development Poles of development Olympic venues Business | Leisure Center Tram Line Metro Line Suburban Housing Train Line Attiki Odos
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Urban History
2008-2013 During this period Greece is experiencing a severe socio economic crisis which started in 2008 with the riots in Athens and spread through the whole country in the following months. In addition to numerous scandals, mostly related with the misuse of public money, the increased poverty and unemployment rates as well as the social conflict and violence are basic factors behind the current instability in Athens. The construction sector, which so far was the motor of economic developments, has collapsed, resulting in 60% decrease since 2008. In this sense, the economic crisis can be regarded as an urbanisation crisis as well since many of the factors that lead to the current condition are related with the urban history of Athens and its basic unit, the Polykatoikia. This urban breakdown is leading to political and social consequences that are very unpredictable. Certain social groups, such as immigrants, homeless and drug addicts inhabit the city centre while the state does not offer alternatives for their social integration. In this sense, these groups are forming a moving mass which remains marginalized. In addition, extreme ideologies are becoming apparent in the Athenian context, not only by entering the parliament as a political party but also as violent actors in the city centre. Today’s luck of governance and the national dependency to external decision makers has not proven itself to be effective. Instead of trying to suggest any practical emergency solutions or a utopian vision for the city, maybe it becomes important to offer an alternative paradigm that confronts the neoliberal view of economic and social recovery.
40
.Unemployment.
Hunger, violence and rejection of difference. s: Internet search
.Violence.
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.Hybrid.
42
.Fragmentation.
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Free Space | Empty
.Urban Cheese.
42 44
.Emptyness.
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s: Dimitrakou, I. 路 Van der Pols, M. 路 Salonikidi, K. 路 Stamati, M. 路 Zioga, E., Fear and Loaning in Athens: Shifting Perspectives of Space,TU Delft, Urban Assymetries Studio, 2013
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04_EVOLUTION OF THE URBAN BLOCK
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1843-1919 Steet Elevation
Axonometric
Plan
48
Law
Useful Information
No restrictions
Population: 453.000 Green space: 90% Pollution: none Private Transport: Horses
Street Section
Public Transport: Small caravans,Tram, Train
Economy: Primary sector 80% Secondary sector 10% Tertiary sector 10%
49
1919-1941 Steet Elevation
Axonometric
Plan
50
Law
Useful Information
1919-1934 Population: 1.124.000
Penthouse setback = 2.5m Penthouse heigth = 4m
Green space: 70%
1919: Hmax = 1.2 x street width 1922: Hmax = 1.75 x street width 1929: Hmax = 1.165 x street width Street Section
Pollution: Low Private Transport: Cars
Max Cover
Public Transport: Tram, Train, Bus
25% Economy: Primary sector 40% Secondary sector 40% Tertiary sector 20%
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1941-1975 Steet Elevation
Axonometric
Plan
52
Law
Useful Information
1934-1973 Population: 2.540.000
Penthouse setback = 4m Penthouse heigth = 2.5m
Green space: 30%
1934: Hmax = (2 x street width) 18m
Pollution: high Private Transport: Cars
Street Section
Max Cover
Public Transport: Tram, Train, Bus
25% Economy: Primary sector 15% Secondary sector 55% Tertiary sector 30%
53
1975-1990 Steet Elevation
Axonometric
Plan
54
Law
Useful Information
1973- 1985 Population: 3.205.000
Penthouse setback = Hmax-Hf Penthouse heigth = 2.5m
Green space: 10%
1973: Hmax = (2 x street width) 24m 1985: Hmax = (2 x street width) 24m
Pollution: Very high Private Transport: Cars
Street Section
Max Cover
Public Transport: Train, Bus
25% 50%
Economy: Primary sector 10% Secondary sector 40% Tertiary sector 50%
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1990-2013 Steet Elevation
Axonometric
Plan
56
Useful Information
Law 1990- 2012
Population: 3.750.000
Minimum arcade height = 3.5m Minimum arcade width = 2.5m
Green space: 3%
2000: Hmax = (2 x street width) 24m
Pollution: Very high Private Transport: Cars
Street Section
Max Cover
Public Transport: Train, Bus, Metro
25% 50%
Economy: Primary sector 3% Secondary sector 12% Tertiary sector 85%
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Concluding Statements
1. Since the formation of the independent state, Athens was under economic, political and cultural dependency from western economies.
2. Top-down decision processes did not respond to real conditions and needs.
3. Polykatoikia became the device to fragment and thus control the population.
4. The high level of abandonment and decay of the city center.
5. The emergence of new actors in the city.
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59
60
05_CITY CENTER
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Patision Street
During the 19th century Patision Street was the most popular countryside destination where Athenians spent their recreational time. It was a small village full of refreshing gardens where someone could participate in the social life of the city. The numerous cafes formed vibrant areas for political discussions attracting many of the thinkers of the time. In 1940 the first tram line was constructed and rendered the street as one of the most important traffic arteries of Athens. The areas adjacent of Patision become very attractive for the housing market and quickly the density became unbearable and the first sings of degradation become apparent. It is also around that time that Patision Street becomes the most visible line separating Athens in east and west side. The former being the housing for the lower classes and the latter for the bourgeoisie. In terms of architecture, many Polykatoikias where built under the influence of the modern movement. Clear geometries, rational construction, the abolishment of ornamentation and the attention to detail gave birth to some interesting buildings. Unfortunately many of these were demolished in order to be replaced by higher buildings that could maximise the profits for the private developers. A small number of local parks provide refreshing utopias for the children to play and for the older to discuss. However, the only characteristic of Patision that still remains a key factor for its social life is the existence of education institutes that historically influenced the street in a great extent.
62
East-West Boarder
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Student Distict
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National University Private College
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Grid | Density
s: Tournikoitis, Moraitis, Chaniotou, Shifting characters and policies in the centers of Athens and Pireus, 2011
s: Dimitrakou, I. 路 Van der Pols, M. 路 Salonikidi, K. 路 Stamati, M. 路 Zioga, E., Fear and Loaning in Athens: Shifting Perspectives of Space,TU Delft, Urban Assymetries Studio, 2013
66
Heights | Income
8 stories
4 stories
5800-8500 euros/sqm
1500-1900 euros/sqm
7 stories
3 stories
4000-4750 euros/sqm
1000-1450 euros/sqm
6 stories
2 stories
2950-3300 euros/sqm
Square
5 stories
1 stories
1950-2850 euros/sqm
Green space
s: Dimitrakou, I. 路 Van der Pols, M. 路 Salonikidi, K. 路 Stamati, M. 路 Zioga, E., Fear and Loaning in Athens: Shifting Perspectives of Space,TU Delft, Urban Assymetries Studio, 2013
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06_SITE ANALYSIS
69
Agios Nikolaos
1
4
5 2
5
6 2
3 4
3
1
.Grid Pattern.
70
6
.Public nodes.
Religion Green space Green Artery Site
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.Transport.
Public transport Traffic artery Low traffic Site
.Education.
72
.Conflict.
Immigrants Prostitution Police station Nodes of violence Site
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Immigrant-Student | University
74
Elderly-Children | Church
75
Site
76
77
Wide Street Sections
78
Narrow Street Sections
79
Abandonment
80
Empty Space
81
Common Space | Courtyards
An investigation on the qualities of common space within the urban fabric seems necessary to form a coherent problem statement. If the intermediate common space, which is neither private nor public, does not provide to the residents of the urban block a space of collaboration and communication, then this indifference will be translated to the public space as well. It is interesting to study the chaotic pattern of the internal courtyards as well as their impact on the city planning as a whole. These introverted spaces are composed by multiple boundaries that isolate the inhabitants while property lines raise obstacles against any effort for space unification.
.Boundaries.
82
.Solid | Void.
83
Their physical dimensions are from the right beginning problematic since they form claustrophobic spatial conditions where human activity is not invited. Most of the courtyard windows are hermetically closed allowing no contact as well as no collaboration with the other. Air-conditioning units have monopolised the facades while their mechanical operating noise is constantly echoing around. The inhabitants mainly use this space for garbage allocation or for hanging up their clothes. Most of the balconies are either completely inactive or become an external storage space. There is a great variety of different materials that however started to deteriorate. Humidity has invaded many parts of the structure exposing the layers that compose the building. In this sense, it becomes an unhealthy and also dangerous environment for human activity to take place. As a result those blocks have become a space of indifferent cohabitation. An architectural intervention has to act within this problematic condition in order to reinvent the common in architecture.
.Courtyards Walls.
84
.Barriers.
.Light Wells.
85
.Courtyard Conditions.
86
.Courtyard Plan.
87
Common Space | Roof
The roof level is also considered a common use space for the residents of the Polykatoikia. The roof used to be an active common space where small parties and various social events where organised. However, very soon the roof level was abandoned since the increased density and the polluted and noisy urban environment did not allow this space to reach its potential. Today, the roof is ether inaccessible to the residents while radio cables and tv satellites take advantage of the unique panoramic view of the city. In most cases, the roofs of the urban blocks are almost in the same height since they took advantage of the maximum height allowed by the building regulation. In this sense, the unification of multiple roofs could provide the ground for a new common space that takes advantage of the Mediterranean climate and creates multiple conditions for outside living.
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89
Common Space | Roof
.Generic Roof.
90
.Roof Plan.
91
Concluding Statements
1. Patision street forms a boundary between east and west.
2. Traffic arteries create space divisions.
3. Abandonment of Common space.
4. Important public spaces coincide with religious and university buildings.
5. Protective relationships between key actors.
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93
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07_STRATEGY
95
Intentions
1. To propose a catalogue of architectural actions that could inverse the current fragmented urban mass into collective urban forms.
2. To suggest a large-scale reform of the city through the modification of Polykatoikia.
3. To experiment with the removal and addition of urban mass to achieve new space relationships.
4. To create a network of common spaces that unifies the blocks an enhances the relationship between the existing public spaces.
5. To enhance social relationships by bringing different actors together.
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97
Monastery | Cloister
In contrast to the liquid state of modern society, the Benedictine monastery symbolizes an enduring unit that is based on stability. The building responds to this fundamental state of stability by allowing the monk to spend his entire monastic life within the boundaries of the monastery. However, even if it becomes a disconnected and introverted environment which offers the possibility of withdrawal, it also forms a community based on coherence and sense of belonging. This community depends greatly on the long lasting ties between its members while it organizes itself around the concept of collective living. In this sense, without the narrative of the common it would be impossible to achieve the stability required to distance oneself from the modern state of society. The monastery is a collective unit that surpasses the lifespan of the individual member. It is characterized by the endurance of its state where the fusion of past and the future forms the present. Two very interesting architectural spaces of the monastery celebrate this condition of time fusion. The library becomes the mediator of knowledge from one generation to the other since it forms the archive of thoughts of previous members of the community. On the other hand, the cemetery being the space where the endurance of the monastic life is mostly celebrated is located within the boundaries of the monastery. It represents that the stability of the community continues even after the death of the individual.
s: Life in the Medieval University Robert S. Rait, 2007
98
Apart of the collective character of the monastery the users are in great need for solitude. Being alone in silence to read, think and sleep is a necessary activity of the monastic life. The private cell then becomes the space of individual reflection where one is confronted with his own being. The body and the spirit lose their binary relationship and the mind feed itself from praying and dreaming. In this context, the monastery being composed of individual units and common spaces needs an architectural solution that integrates them carefully. In this sense, the archetype of the cloister is implemented to bring together different elements of the monks’ daily life. It is a space of movement where frequent interpersonal encounter becomes possible without limiting the activities of the monastic experience. Being the place of seclusion for the religious community, the cloister is an introverted space, forming a continuous and solid architectural barrier from the outside. The typology of the monastery demands life to be perceived as ritual. The users have to obey certain rules that predefine behavioural patterns and thus render possible the formation of a society within the limited territory of the monastery. However their architectural organization provides valuable lessons on how to merge the individual and collective as well as on which elements could make this possible.
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Firenze-Uffizi | Loggia
The archetype of the loggia, meaning an open-sided roofed or vaulted gallery that is either freestanding or positioned along the sides of buildings, was one of the prime examples of an architecture that brought together the office space, the living unit and the city. With its porosity and generic form created a space that that worked as an internal threshold were immaterial production could be controlled and become more effective. In essence it was a political and managerial instrument that was representative of the new state and its governance. It was a utilitarian architecture that responded in the emerging forms of immaterial production and capitalist accumulation. It was also an effort to counteract and reduce the autonomy of guilds by replacing them with a managerial infrastructure. The loggia was linear public courtyard that invited mobility and stability in the simultaneously since it was an important connector of different parts of the city but also the space where immaterial production was organised. The disarticulation of the façade from the internal distribution of the modules allowed the perfect integration of an incredible variety of programs (including a church, a theatre, a library, a mint, an art gallery, a mediaeval tower, warehouses and, of course, offices) despite the site’s irregularities, literally transforming the building into a “product” of its context – a city within a city.
s: Francesco Marullo, The Office and the Loggia: Giorgio Vasari’s Architecture for Bureaucracy, 2012
.Gate.
100
This “typical plan”, which not only abolished any programmatic differentiation of its interior spaces but also rhythmically framed the adjacent contextual conditions, proposed the possibility of creating an entirely homogeneous, continuous, flexible layout that was capable of making any human material or immaterial potentiality productive.
s: Francesco Marullo, The Office and the Loggia: Giorgio Vasari’s Architecture for Bureaucracy, 2012
.Floor plan.
101
Free University | Groundscraper
Desgned by architectural firm Candilis-Josic-Woods the Free University of Berlin can be considered as a radical rethinking of university facilities. It is a project that proposed the restructuring of education and to a certain extent acted as a critique on society as well. The architects introduced the concept of the “groundscraper� as an effort to increase the density and allow quick access to multiple planes where flexibility and openness and eventually freedom are celebrated. The need for greater exchange and collaboration between different disciplines formed the foundations for the new educational program. In this sense, it required an architectural solution that could integrate different spatial conditions without jeopardizing their autonomy. To achieve this relationship the architects proposed the interrelated ideas of the stem and the web. The stem being an attempt to introduce the formal qualities of the street within the building itself and to propose an urban scenario open to growth and transformation. The web as polycentric system based on circulation patterns which integrates the infrastructure and the immediate context with the facilities of the university. Instead of elevators the architects used ramps and staircases to form the link between different levels. The university being almost the continuation of the city becomes an interior urban hall where the line between the publi`c and private is diffused.
.Circulation.
102
In terms of its organization the majority of the public venues, such as exhibition spaces, auditoriums, large lecture halls, cafes, shops and libraries are located along the four main servicing spines and connected by secondary paths that hold offices and smaller classrooms. Spaces were allocated vertically on the basis of efficiency and the frequency of activity. A fascinating aspect of the web organization of the building is that is meant to be constructed in spread out stages open to revision over time. In this sense, in contrast to the rigid and canonical organization of the structure the project was considered to always be in a state of becoming something new.
s: Dina krunic, The groundscraper: Candilis-Josic-Woods and the free university of Berlin, 1963-1973
.Floor plan.
103
104
8_POSSIBLE ACTIONS
105
Pilotis
NOW
AFTER
106
SPACE
107
Passage
NOW
AFTER
108
SPACE
109
Courtyard
NOW
AFTER
110
SPACE
111
112
09_BIBLIOGRAPHY
113
Bibliography
Past Past Readings Readings Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition (The University of Chicago Press: Chicago, Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition (The University of Chicago Press: Chicago, 1958). 1958). Zygmunt ZygmuntBauman, Bauman,Liquid LiquidModernity, Modernity,Polity PolityPress, Press,2000 2000 PaoloVirno, Virno,The TheGrammar Grammarofofthe theMultitude: Multitude:For ForananAnalysis AnalysisofofContemporary Contemporary Paolo FormsofofLife Life(The (TheMit MitPress: Press:Cambridge CambridgeMa., Ma.,2004). 2004). Forms Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri, “Empire”, Harvard University Press, 2000 Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri, “Empire”, Harvard University Press, 2000 Rudolf Steiner, “The Renewal of the Social Organism”, Anthroposophic press, 1985 Rudolf Steiner, “The Renewal of the Social Organism”, Anthroposophic press, 1985 Pier Vittorio Aureli, “The possibility of an absolute architecture”, MIT press, 2011 Pier Vittorio Aureli, “The possibility of anof absolute architecture”, 2011 Rem Koolhaas, Bigness: or the Problem Dimension, in OMA,MIT Rempress, Koolhaas, Bruce Mau, SMXL (Monacelli Press: New York, 2009), pp. 495-516. Rem Koolhaas, Bigness: or the Problem of Dimension, in OMA, Rem Koolhaas, David Harvey, The Political Economy of Public Space, Online essey. Bruce Mau, SMXL (Monacelli Press: New York, 2009), pp. 495-516. David Harvey, The Right to the City, New Left Review 53, September 2008. David Harvey, The Political Economy of Public Space, Online essey. Georgios Saragiannis, Athens 1830-2000, Evolution-Urbanism-Transport, Simetria, Athens, 2000 David Harvey, I.The Right the M. City, New Left Review 53, September 2008. Dimitrakou, · Van dertoPols, · Salonikidi, K. · Stamati, M. · Zioga, E., Fear and Loaning in Athens: Shifting Perspectives of Space,TU Delft, Urban Assymetries Studio, 2013 Georgios Saragiannis, Athens 1830-2000, Evolution-Urbanism-Transport, Simetria, Athens, 2000 Aristides Romanos, “The Elliniko and the Regeneration of the City Center”, Potamos Press, 2011, Athens Aristides Romanos, “The Elliniko and the Regeneration of the City Center”, Potamos Press, 2011, Athens Aristides Romanos “Questioning Urbanism from the Citizen’s View Point”, Potamos Press, 2004, Athens Romanos “Questioning Urbanism from the Citizen’s View Point”, Potamos Press, 2004, Athens Aristides Athens. Labour city architecture, Towards a common architectural language, Berlage Studio. 2010 Athens. Labour city architecture, Towards a common architectural language, Berlage Studio. 2010 Michel Foucault “The Birth of Bio-Politics”, Lecture at the Collège de France on Neo-Liberal Governmentality, 1979 Foucault “The Birth of Bio-Politics”, Lecture at the Collège de France on Neo-Liberal Governmentality, 1979 Michel Michel Foucault “Des Espace Autres”, French journal Architecture /Mouvement/ Continuité, 1984, Michel Foucault “Des Espace Autres”, French journal Architecture /Mouvement/ Continuité, 1984, Francesco Marullo, The Office and the Loggia: Giorgio Vasari’s Architecture for Bureaucracy, 2012 Robert S. Rait, Life in the Medieval University, 2007 Dina Krunic, The groundscraper: Candilis-Josic-Woods and the free University of Berlin, 1963-1973
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Future Readings Hannah Arendt, Introduction into Politics, in Jerome Kohn (edited by) The Promise of Politics (Schocken Books: New York, 2005). Paolo Virno, Three Remarks Regarding the Multitude’s Subjectivity and its Aesthetic Component, in Daniel Birnbaum, Isabelle Graw, Under Pressure: Pictures, Subjects, and the New Spirit of Capitalism (Sternberg Press: New York, 2008), pp. 30-45. Brett Neilson and Ned Rossiter, Precarity as Political Concept: New Forms of Connection, Subjectivation and Organization in: “Open” Issue 17 (2009), “A Precarious existence: Vulnerability in the Pubic Domain” (Nai Publisher: Rotterdam 2009), pp. 48-64.
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