The urban regeneration of public spaces is continuously a pressing issue. How can we intervene in a modern city, in small scale public spaces, that exhibit phenomena such as lack of maintenance, decline in quality and usability? The area under consideration here is near the historic center of Thessaloniki, Greece. Despite the material damage, inadequate maintenance of green areas, and decline of parks, the area has interesting social features. Even though it consists of low-rise residential buildings, their tenants avoid the area due to its decline.

This project untangles the notions of “intervention and revival” by incorporating participatory design methods. Specifically, the design proposal aims to increase tenant/user participation in the development and maintenance of the area. It proposes to imagine an architecture that shapes public space incubators that host continuous user activity. It invites users to engage in regenerating their public space and contribute to its upkeep and development.

Project Information

Title: Urban Regeneration. Competition entry for the “National Ideas Competition for the Recreation and Promotion of Shared and Public Spaces in Thessaloniki.”
Organization: Technical Chamber of Greece.
Collaborators: Vassilis Papakonstantinou (Horotechniki S.A.).

Press and Exhibition

Awarded Honorable Mention (Top-4 proposals) and exhibited at the Museum of Byzantine Culture.