ΠΟΛ(Η)ΚΑΤΟΙΚΙΣΗ
A Debate between city & residency
National Technical Univercity of Athens Students: Dimopoulou-Gouda Daphni, Lantzouni Eva, Sfakiotaki Irene Graduation Committee:prof.Papaioannou T, prof.Papalexopoulos D, ir. Klabatsea R. October 2012
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ΠΟΛ(Η)ΚΑΤΟΙΚΙΣΗ
A Debate between city & residency
ΠΟΛΗ=city ΠΟΛΥ=multy ΚΑΤΟΙΚΙΣΗ=habitation ΠΟΛΥΚΑΤΟΙΚΙΑ=Greek edifice,residential block of flats ΟΙΚΙΖΩ=habitate
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INDEX 00 Introduction 01 Area of study
the notion of gentrification the neighborhood character purpose, aim & case study
02 Rearranging the urban block the urban concept the design proposal the flea market masterplans & sections
03 Designing the residency the urban skyline the co-habitation concept
04 Drawings
floorplans & typologies sections & facades
05 The construction system 06 Conclusions
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ΠΟΛ(Η)ΚΑΤΟΙΚΙΣΗ REarranging the urban block | A DEBATE BETWEEN CITY & RESIDENCΥ
00 Introduction City
Urban environment: What kind of mitigation strategies should be adopted aiming at quality (re)development of the built environment in the city of Athens? What kind of interventions in the urban block (unite that composes the built environment)could deal with problems of degradation, saturated tissue but also social problems such as fragmentation & luck of affordable housing that are exacerbated by the economic crisis?
& recidency
Habitation models: What kind of edifice could morphologically and conceptually stand next to ”polikatoikia” ?(the Greek habitation block of flats that structured the city in the 20th century)Do the variable social needs create new social patterns of habitation and if so how they can be spatialy translated into habitation models?
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01 Area of study
the notion of gentrification L
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According to definition by Soytemel, “gentrification� is a global phenomenon, taking place when redevelopment plans for degraded areas are on force. The effects are multidimensional and affect social, economic and urban aspects of the gentified neighborhoods. Gentrification has as result also displacement and mobility of residents, related to their social or economic status (Posthumus, 2014). The state-of-the-art regarding mobility in gentrified neighborhoods consists of new (gentrifiers), old (remaining) and moving (out-movers) residents. Often it is stated, that when people of different socio-economic background have to co-exist, the cohesion of the neighborhood is fragmentized (Colic-Peisker, 2014). Issues of spatial distribution are raising and also the sentiment of belonging is becoming ambivalent (Soytemel, 2014).
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01 Area of study
the neighbourhood character functions at the groundfloor cirrculation & pedestrian street typology of urban blocks open & built urban space Metaxourgeio area is situated at the west side of the city center of Athens and has been developed as a commercial/light industrial zone. After the shutting down or removal of these activates to rural areas, the empty shells attracted vulnerable social groups to move in the area, such as immigrants, lower income residents, drug-addicts, whores. The central location & cheap rents, however, progressively favor the situation of artists in the area which lead to cultural and recreation developments. The artists are considered the first generation of gentrifies in this case. As the social status of the area is progressively transforming to a new hot shop of art events, new shops,ateliers & theaters in an environment merging historic, new classic & post-industrial buildings, new groups such as students and young professionals are attracted to settle in. The influx of new residents attracts new income investments in the area. The developments already realized consist of big residential blocks, addressing new residents and excluding the old ones. The prices of existing properties raise causing old residents to move. New and old residents, as well as new and old functions seem to have a difficulty to coexist, causing phenomena of social segregation to be evident in the neighborhood.
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01 Area of study porpuse,aims & case study
location in the neighbourhood inventory of usages in the groundfloor street facades open & built space The purpose of this design research is to investigate a different (re)development strategy for the unite of the urban block in Metaxourgeio area in contradiction to so far applied strategies of social & spatial division in the neighborhood. The goal is to address the influx of new residents with a design solution in urban and building level that will prioritize integration of interventions in the existing character of the neighborhood and aim to address lack of usages for existing users. A semi-complete urban block is chosen as a case study. The interventions in the urban block aim to compose a model whose general principals can be reproduced in other blocks of the neighborhood. The main goal is to be realized by investigating three sub-aspects: • Upgrade the public space within the urban block which now operates as an “urban shaft” by transforming it to a vital, public & green space connected to the neighborhood • Revitalize empty vessels of the block by integrating usages that are lacking from the neighborhood • Reassure the continuity of the urban block by adding new residential buildings in the street facades to address existing housing needs in the neighborhood. A new model scheme of co-habitation is to be investigated as a lacking model in the city of Athens for short term and cheap accommodation.
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02 Rearraning the urban block concept & design proposal Main axis of composition Two alignments (the outdoors flea market, placed where the abandoned warehouses used to be over the trace of the old-town web on one hand, and the green route on the other) constitute the main, airy, public movements throughout the block. The outdoor flea-food market penetrates the block, decomposes the perimetric building mass, connects the main highway (Iera odos street) with Metaxourgeio area, while provides accessibility to the internal open space of the block. The open space is released out of the perimetric limits of the block and opens itself towards the city. A new green public space is created for the block’s residences but also for the entire neighborhood, in addition to the flea market.
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neighboorhood scale
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02 Rearraning the urban block the flea market
interventions on the morphology of the roof shelter
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flea market & public space//public space is indeed public when it is open to all
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02 Rearraning the urban block MASTERPLANS & SECTIONS
masterplan groundfloor
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masterplan view
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sections within the urban block
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03 Designing the residency the city of Athens
The morphology of the city of Athens has been determined in great scale by the edifice of “πολυκατοικία” (multi residential block of flats). The edifice structured the city in times of intense urbanization as a rapid solution against the housing problem since the beginning of 20th century. The extraordinary fact about this building type is that managed to prevail as the unite of an urban development system where the owner of the lot granted the privilege of construction to the contractor in exchange for one or two apartments in the final residential block, often without cash transaction, state control or presence of the architect! Despite the bizarre development system and the morphological result, the edifice managed to deliver successful and quality solutions regarding habitation typologies, led to a vertical ownership system and managed to incorporate within its bays users coming from various social classes (the higher floor, the higher prices) and commercial zone in the ground floor. The vertical ownership division managed to maintain the social cohesion of the city and avoid up to great extent phenomena of zoning and marginalization in the neighborhoods.
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03 Designing the residency the urban skyline
The main morphological characteristics of “πολυκατοικία” are the presence of commercial zone in the ground floor, the situation of entrances and elevations to the residencies from the street facade and the recessions of the building volume towards the sky. Main goal for the residential building of this proposal is to manage to “clip” into the preexisting urban net but deliver a new habitation scheme in a new building form. The form of the building is influenced by the concept of the urban skyline of the city of Athens. The block of flats succeeds to maintain the continuity of the urban façade although the scale of the constructed building has changed in comparison with the typical block of flats in Athens.
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03 Designing the residency
the co-habitation concept Until now, the family pattern has been predominant for the habitation typologies in the market. Socially changing needs create new habitation schemes which lead to the need of investigating alternative habitation typologies. The design solution proposes a building complex consisting of small, semi-autonomous units for multiple users. Flexible co-habitation schemes constitute a new model of semi-permanent and cheap accommodation: a new topology of cohabitation in Athens during crisis.
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Family scheme | Family residential model | πολυκατοικία
Stable working condidtions feeding the family scheme
Flexible working condidtions & econimic crisis create the need for new habitation shemes in Athens Socially changing needs affect the habitation models!!!
Multiple users
| FLEXIBLE residential schemes | Co-habitation model 29
04 Drawings
living in a flat - living in a block of flats
FLOORPLANS
the cohesion of intermediate spaces
the correlation of
public & private spaces
the correlation of
open & semi-open spaces
the cirrculation system
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04 Drawings
FLLORPLANS & TYPOLOGIES
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04 Drawings SECTIONS & FACADES
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05 Construction system the materials’ division
Shared and private spaces preconize two different-building systems: metal and concrete interpreting each other constantly trying to re-identify the relation between the individual and collective boundaries.
concrete mass
metalic corridors
vertical movement
balcones/green terraces
shelter
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05 Construction system SECTION
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06 Scale models URBAN & BUILDING SCALES
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07 Conclusion The goal
The design proposal aimed to investigate a balanced solution for a typical semi-complete urban block in Metaxourgeio area and to showcase alternative strategies of development; others than the ones applied so far in the neighborhood. Goal of the design approach has been to acknowledge the current trends in the area and propose solutions that will prioritize the mix of users and address specific lack of usages in the neighborhood. In addition, the proposal attempted to make a statement as far as the typical, condensed urban block in Athens is concerned. The solution does not apply to built urban blocks in order to avoid strategies of demolition. However, offers an alternative scheme of completion for the semi-complete ones where green public space is generated with the aim to improve the quality of the built environment in the city of Athens.The design proposal for the particular block does not aim to be replicated as a successful fit for all semi-complete blocks, as the particularity of each one deserves custom solutions. However, aims to become a guideline whose general principals can be applied in every semi-complete block. The design proposal took under consideration the existing urban morphology and the current needs of new and old residents, generated a public and accessible urban block typology, and prioritized the user instead of the profit aiming in reconciliation and not in gentrification of the neighborhood. It is believed that such an approach can provide a sustainable future solution for the semi-complete urban block in Athens by upgrading the built environment quality and reassure social cohesion.
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