Ypsilantou 35 & Ploutarchou, Athens 10676
project image
Athens Charting / AthinaX4 Competition
Athens - first prize
Athens Charting responds to the AthinaX4 competition, calling for the unification of four Athens city blocks into one. The new super-block creates a novel form of public space -namely, the intersection of two streets - that can be repeated across the city in order to address the problem of excess urban density and lack of green space. In contrast to the rigidity of the original Athens Charter Manifesto, Athens Charting proposes a flexible matrix of spatial strategies with varied chronological impact and reversibility. We see the city not as a blank canvas or static icon but as a three-dimensional space of urban drama. The proposal seeks to avoid the trappings of an image-based design and, instead, offers a set of tools that can be used by residents, policy-makers and designers in a way that highlights the heterogeneity and social layering of the city. Athens Charting is less about physical intervention, and more about public action.