Prishtina, thessaloniki

ECOWEEK 2016 Projects in Ag. Nikolaos, Greece

Public Space & Tourism in One Planet

On July 3-10 ECOWEEK took place in the historic island of Crete. In partnership with the Municipality of Ag. Nikolaos, G&A Mamidakis Foundation, BlueGr Hotels and Resorts, Lasithi Prefecture, and LoveGreece.com, and with BioRegional (UK) as the sustainability partner, ECOWEEK organized a one-week festival to engage tourists, businesses and the local community. Keynote speakers and workshop leaders included designer chris doray (Canada), environmentalist Benjamin Gill (UK/Greece), orizzontale (Italy), Jorge Martin (Marko&Placemakers, UK), Galia Hanoch roe (Society for Protection of Nature, Israel), EuZEN Architects (Greece), architect thanos Stasinopoulos (Turkey), lighting designer Eleftheria deko (Greece), architect Panos Parthenios (Technical University of Crete, Greece), local eco-building experts Kristell VanHove (LIMNI, Crete) Yiorgos Sakellaris (Natural Building of Creta, Crete), and Yiorgos ritsakis (Archanes, Crete), nanotechnology expert Prof. George Kyriakidis (Univeristy of Crete), and local composter inventor Manolis Papadimitropoulos. The week opened with a sketching session and walking tour of the city headed by ECOWEEK Chairman architect Elias Messinas. The workshops addressed specific locations in the city, carefully chosen in coordination with the municipality, to generate renewal and placemaking in the city and to engage tourists and the local community in a discourse on sustainability, recycling of materials, public space and sustainable tourism.

W1: Pag[adds] in City Hall Park

WorKSHoP Leaders: Nasrin Mohiti Asli and Margherita Manfra (Orizzontale, Italy).

WorKSHoP team: Antonia Apostolakis, Eugenia Efthimiadou, Maria Kriou, Elli Ntaountaki, Eirini Syka, Sophia Tsiteli and Andreana Ephimia Tzeka.

W1: Pag[adds] = Pagkatch (park seat in local accent) The City Hall park, in proximity to the City Hall, although adjacent to shops, cafes, houses, office buildings and a hotel, it remains unused most of the time. The team set the objective to give an identity to the park, so that the local community – passers-by, neighbors and tourists - will use it. The group approached the local community to identify their needs, and to learn from them, how they like to use public space. Shortly after the team completed their work, passers-by – and especially children – explored the new seating in creative ways.

W4: Reviewing the Green School

WorKSHoP Leaders: Elias Messinas (Architect, ECOAMA / ECOWEEK), Galia Hanoch roe (Landscape Architect, Environmental Protection Society, Israel), with the cooperation of thanos Stasinopoulos (Architect, Turkey).

WorKSHoP team: Anna Bampaitou, Zaklyn Maroukian, Calliope Dokolianidou, Eda Kale, Suna Irem Oker, Foteini-Ioanna Tsoumpou-Andriopoulou, Stavros Avramakis, Michail Gounalakis, Evangelos Papadakis and Georgia Tzanopoulou.

WorKSHoP Materials: The interventions were made possible thanks to the generous offer of materials and tools by Bluegr Hotels and Resorts, Ch. Iosifelis SA, Tsagkarakis, and PLEKTAM SA.

W4: reviewing the Green School The site was the 3rd elementary public school. The group focused on four areas: (a) A waiting area next to the main entrance. (b) Seating in shaded areas in the front yard. (c) Upgrade of the abandoned internal court, and revive the abandoned herb garden in the backyard. The design process started two interactive workshops, one with schoolchildren at the Children’s Festival in June, and the second with parents, schoolchildren and teachers in July. Following the ‘Smaller, Quicker, and Cheaper’ approach the group created spaces (placemaking), and involved and empowered parents, teachers and schoolchildren in the making. Assisted by skilled workers and with materials donated by local hotels, the

team transformed the spaces, and the general atmosphere: parents, teachers and pupils continued upgrading the school after the ECOWEEK workshop was over. WorKSHoP team: Chara Aidoni, Antigoni Ioannou, Areti Kotsoni, Maria Pachniotou, Dimitra Papadami, Konstantina Perivolari, Alexandra Psimada and Zissis Vomvas.

W5: Bioclimatic Courtyard

WorKSHoP Leaders: Dora Kyriafini and Foteini Lymperiadou (euZen Architecture, Greece). With the participation of Nikos Protogeros (computer simulations) and Benjamin Gill (One Planet Living guidelines).

WorKSHoP team: Stefania Adamaki, Androniki Cheimonaki, Antigoni Drosouni, Konstantina Photopoulou, Georgia Pantidou, Evangelia Siskaki, Christina Sophiou, and Magdalini Stiakaki Tzavla.

W5: Bioclimatic courtyard The challenge was to upgrade the courtyard of the 5th elementary public school. Starting with meetings with parents and teachers, and a workshop where pupils the group formulated their design brief: students spending all day in a bare concrete yard without shading or places to play, they wished for trees and shading. The design was for a low-cost conversion of the yard into a green oasis, replacing concrete with earth and shrub, and planting local trees, and evergreen bushes. The design also reduced ground temperatures in the summer, as simulations showed, dropping energy use by 7%. The Municipality enthusiastically decided to implement the proposal with the support of local businesses.

W6: Environmental Interiorities

WorKSHoP Leaders: Panos Parthenios and Anna Karagianni (Digital Media Lab, Technical University of Crete, Greece). With the participation of Nikoletta Chatzopoulou (sound), Nikos Bolanakis (Arduino), Thomas Pouliassis and George Hatzidakis (recording). W6: Environmental Interiorities The team worked in the alleys and steps of downtown, focusing on the visitor experience on noise pollution, light and shading, moisture and carbon emissions. The group proposed two structures, which would improve conditions for these sites, providing framed views, sitting places, flexible gardens, and structures to filter noise and create harmony in the space.

W7: LIMNI Site

WorKSHoP Leaders: Kristell VanHove and Andreas Gorani (LIMNI, Greece).

WorKSHoP team: Constantina Boumpoulaki, Paraskevi Landou, Anastasia Naki, Michail Nikoloudakis and Iliana Pediaditi.

W7: LIMNI Site In a site of natural beauty that hosts agro tourist activities, the group constructed an external oven and an outdoor seating area, using natural materials - earth, clay, straw, wood and stone - and local construction techniques.

ECOWEEK 2016 Projects in Israel

Placemaking in One Planet

On September 18-23 ECOWEEK organized a series of workshops in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv area, in collaboration with Holon Institute of Technology, Bezalel Academy, Jerusalem Municipality, the Jerusalem Development Authority, Beit Hansen, Dizengoff Center, the Jerusalem Urban Design Center, and the Urban Center of Bat Yam, and with BioRegional (UK) as the sustainability partner. With the participation of architect thomas Kauertz (HAWK, Germany), orly ronen (Israel), and Avirama Golan (Israel), the workshops addressed specific sites which the local partners aimed to generate ideas for further development. Projects included the Prokupine shelter at the Rose Garden and soft interventions at the Sun Grove in Jerusalem, an infographics campaign on environmental awareness in central shopping mall in Tel Aviv, and program formulation for the rehabilitation of the iconic former City Hall of Bat Yam. WorKSHoP team: Sofia Mahajna, Denis Oldenburger, Julia Stachowiak, and AnnaLena Schmidt.

W4: Sun Grove Jerusalem The Sun Grove is a natural reserve in the city center of Jerusalem. Surrounded by the upscale neighborhood of the German Colony with historic buildings, it is heavily used by local residents and the students of the adjacent public and private schools. The team met with the local community and was briefed on previous design attempts. The aim of the workshop was to upgrade the site and preserve its special character, by focusing on the perimeter – entrances, edges - and proposing soft interventions using natural materials and an environmentally-conscious management of rainwater on the site. The proposal was approved for further development and implementation.

W4: Sun Grove Jerusalem

WorKSHoP Leaders: Architect thomas Kauertz and engineer Anja Markwart (HAWK, Germany), architect Elias Messinas (ECOAMA/ECOWEEK), and Ishai Hanoon (Landscape Architect, Israel).

W5: Dizengoff Center

WorKSHoP Leaders: Designer Ilan Goldstein (Israel) and Designer roni Levit (Israel).

WorKSHoP team: TEAM A: Yarden Brouck, Dana Crishan, Dana Meir, Timna Segenreich, and Yaniv Trabelsi. TEAM B: Anat Aharonson, Daphna Dubin, Naama Krumer, Nir Libman, and Hila Reubens.

W5: dizengoff center The two teams engaged in awareness-raising campaign within the Dizengoff Center shopping mall. With simple acts they aimed to engage the shopping community in environmental issues in the urban environment, and environmental initiatives by the mall management – such as hydroponic farming and beehives on the roof, sheltering bat population in the basement, recycling initiatives, and more.

W6: Time-Place Processor

WorKSHoP Leaders: Architect Braha Kunda (Israel) and Designer Yair Engel (Israel) with consultants writer Avirama Golan, architectural archive director Zvi Elhayani, and restoration architect Amnon Bar or.

WorKSHoP team: Tamuz Goldman, Shirly Meir, Bar Malka, Aviv Mussay, Rotem Bachar, Anastasia Kud, Tslil Stendel-Haim, and Faizy Khoury.

W6: time-Place Processor The team focused on the rehabilitation of the Bat Yam City Hall, a brutalist architectural icon, which upon moving the municipal offices is vacant for new functions. The workshop studied the existing building, the needs of the local community, and proposed a program and initial design strategy, which would make the building an integral magnet for the city for a diverse audience. Proposed new uses included housing a national architectural archive, a visitors’ center, commercial space and outdoor facilities, integrating renewable energy and passive solar design strategies. The proposal formed the basis for further development for the project.

ECOWEEK 2016 Projects in Bucharest, Romania

Properly Bucharest

ECOWEEK in Bucharest was initiated by architects Radu and Laura Negulescu with an ECOWEEK Genius partner event to the 92Y ‘7 Days of Genius’ in March 2016. The discussion initiated on March was further developed into a one-week event on October 23-29 focusing on outdoor spaces: ‘Gardens that heal’ at the garden of the Victor Babes Hospital in Bucharest, design ‘living architecture’ for Vacaresti Nature Park, and develop the concept of ‘productive gardens’ to be applied throughout the city. Supported by Galenica, the international conference and design workshops had the participation of architect Enric Massip-Bosch (Spain), architect Bernadette Mercx (Germany), landscape architect Paul de Graaf (Netherlands), sociologist Liviu chelcea (Romania), and architect cerasella craciun (Romania).

W1: Gardens That Heal

WorKSHoP Leaders: Enric Massip-Bosch (Architect, Spain), Ioanna tudora (Architect, Romania), tamara roseti (Landscape Architect, Romania), Vera dobrescu (Romania), raluca duica (Landscape Architect, Romania), and cerasella craciun (Architect, Romania).

WorKSHoP team: W1.1: Andreea Andrei, Valentin Clapan, Anca Costan, Bianca Dungeanu, Alexandru Ion, Andreea Iordache, Marius Istrate, AnaMaria Matei, Alexandra Mera, Codrut Papina, Ioana Rosioru, Luiza Spiridon, and Alina Stefan. W1.2: Andreea Anușca, Cristina Dobre, Vlad Molendac, Clara Oprea, Leonardo Stoica, Simona Turbatu, and Ana Vița.

W1: Gardens that Heal The workshop team studied the garden of the Victor Babes Hospital in Bucharest and proposed to provide each one of the 7 pavillions on the site with a natural area to inhance spiritual healing for the patients. Each garden had a theme, based on the patients in each pavilion. For example, the children areas included kinetic sculptures, falling water, dressed-up trees, and visibility, and the four seasons garden, with healing colors and plants and a dynamic change of colors over time.

W2: WILL(gr)OW

WorKSHoP Leaders: Bernadette Mercx (Architect, Germany), Liviu chelcea (Sociologist, Romania), radu Negulescu (Architect, Romania), Andrada Eftime (Landscape Planner, Romania), Andreea Simion (Landscape Planner, Romania), Andreea Acasandre (Urban Planner, Romania), in partnership with the Faculty of Urbanism of the ‘Ion Mincu’ University of Architecture and Urbanism in Bucharest.

WorKSHoP team: W2.1: Mihnea Razvan Ivan, Diana-Cristina Neagu, and AnaGabriela Zarif. W2.2: Alexandros Comunello, Andreea Mihai, Dan Rusanescu, Vlad Sadici, and Luciana Zeca.

W2: WILL(gr)oW The workshop team studied the Vacaresti Natural Park, an urban park with potential of integration in the urban experience. The group studied different aspects of the park, including creating a new green corridor alongside the Dambovita watercourse. Another aspect was the entrances and edges of the park, including widening the perimeter walk, planting trees, and creating light structures such as a willow structure to frame paths, a wedding chapel and a bird-watching platform.

ECOWEEK 2016 Projects in Germia Park, Kosovo

Reflection

Organizing ECOWEEK in Kosovo for the third consecutive year, the organizing team headed by architect Argjira Krasniqi decided to try a different format. All groups would live and work together in a beautiful natural setting, the Germia park, and the duration of the event would be doubled to two weeks. On September 10-25, 2016, a group of young professionals and students from Kosovo and abroad, gathered to experiment in the park in an unforgettable experience! The intense program which combined expert lectures, intense design and hands-on workshops, exercise, yoga, meditation and partying, hosted a diverse group of speakers and workshops leaders from Kosovo and abroad. Among them participated architect ulf Meyer (Germany), landscape architect Natalia Pantelidou (Greece), architects Abbas Sbeity, ramona Abdallaha and Malak rahal (Lebanon), architect researcher Armina Pilav (Bosnia & Netherlands), architect Aleksandra Poljanec (Croatia), engineer Bashkim dyla (Switzerland), architect dastid Ferati (Kosovo & Japan), curator urban researcher and writer Elke Krasny (Switzerland), designer dustin Feider (USA), architect Johannes Peter Steidl (Lichtenstein & Germany), artist and designer Sean Martindale (Canada), and landscape architect despoina Kouinoglou (ECOWEEK Greece).

The workshop projected ranged from urban and landscape interventions, to the construction of a full scale tree house, and included the themes ‘Reflecting on the Park’, ‘The Treehouse’, ‘Rethinking Prishtina’, ‘White Sheets’, and ‘Returning Public’.

ECOWEEK 2016 Projects in Thessaloniki, Greece

Placemaking in One Planet

Taking place for second consecutive year – and for the fourth time since 2011 - ECOWEEK in Thessaloniki has become a platform that engages with the pressing challenges of the city. From aging infrastructures, deteriorating public space, transit workspaces, sustainable tourism, recycling, and transient communities of refugees making their way through the city on their way to central Europe, the ECOWEEK workshops envisioned and designed tangible solutions. The recipient local municipality and organizations who worked closely with the workshop groups, adopted some of the proposals to be further developed.

The one-week event took place on November 14-20, and was organized by landscape architect Despoina Kouinoglou, and the team of architects Antonis Semertsidis, Dimitrios Nanos, Natali Nanou, Eleni Vasiliki Alexi, Eftymia Stamatopoulou, Apostolia Michalou, and landscape architect Lina Kapeta.

The week opened with city walks headed by landscape architect Eleni Athanasiadou, architect Stamatios Giannikis, architects Prodromos Nikiforidis and Bernard cuomo, and the team of MoNuMENtA organization. Speakers and workshop leaders included architect ulf Meyer (Germany), environmentalist Benjamin Gill (UK), architect Lina Liakou (Greece), the urban transcripts (UK), and architect themis chatzigiannopoulos (Greece). ECOWEEK 2016 in Greece also included two lectureseries and panel discussions at Hotelia-Philoxenia on November 20 in Thessaloniki, and Hotel Show on November 27 in Athens where the panel included architect Panos Parthenios, architect Antonis Gavalas, architect Gia Vogiatzi, and engineer Stefanos Pallantzas (PassivHaus).

The workshop themes included ‘Ephemera’ – temporary structures, bioclimatic temporary living and working spaces, tools to explore the city and connect to the local community, explore and activate the city edges – especially the waterfront and the sidewalk, the rehabilitation of the Fix factory, urban acupuncture strategies in the city, imagined the future of the city, reimagined Kleisthenous street, redesign of the YMCA square, and the transformation of a refugee camp into a transitional urbanized space.