Architecture competition. First prize (EAXA S.A.). Urban renewal of Patr. Gregoriou V area, Thessaloniki (2012).
Design: atelier pm (Maria Stefanidis & Panagiotis Tsimpiridis)
First prize (out of five equal).
The competition, launched by EAXA S.A. in May 2012, was addressed to young architects up to 40 years old. The aim was the submission of proposals regarding the basic cell of the city, the building block. Since the Greek city consists of small blocks in a dense road network, narrow sidewalks, and fragmented green areas, the goal was to create a larger block (block x4, Thessaloniki x4). The resulting block will positively influence the area’s microclimate, the quality of life, and the image and functionality of the public space.
The subject was an area, out of five suggested ones, outside the city’s historic center, with a degraded urban environment -whether due to high building rates, high density, a lack of green areas, communal facilities, or the obsolescence of old buildings, etc. The proposal exploited the “cross”, the intermediate roads, combining them with existing gaps or open spaces in the interior of the building block.
Five equal first prizes were awarded, one for each of the competition’s five suggested areas. Atelier pm (Maria Stefanidis and Panagiotis Tsimpiridis) was awarded the first prize for the space at Patr. Gregoriou V.
The proposal focuses on the residual space in the interior of the building block called “akaliptos” and the open space of the street and sidewalk. The aim of the proposed intervention at the “akaliptos” and the street sidewalk is to convert them into a contemporary meta-technological urban version of a “backyard” and a “plantation” respectively.
Two of the existing “akaliptos”, open to the street through non-built sites, are redeveloped as intermediary private-public spaces. The fragmented property of the “akaliptos” space is attributed back to the residents of the surrounding buildings as a shared backyard – an urban farm.
The open street-sidewalk zone is treated as a continuous zone that is planted throughout with lines of deciduous and evergreen trees. This zone is hosting seating units, a playground, ground planting, and open-air athletic recreation areas. The intervention treats differently the wide and narrow streets, adapting appropriate planting and equipment scenarios.
