Public Intimacy & Spatial Trilogies in Athens: Rethinking Dwelling and Publicity Over Traveling, Housing, and Re-creation

ATLAS creates the cumulative spatial representation of Athens in a functional way. A sustainable model and projection for the future, an experiment of programatization of the site. It includes housing / hostel units, social facilities and researching / exhibition spaces in accordance with the neighboring archaeological area / open museum.

URBAN CHARACTER Athens is a metropolis, a capital, a tourist city, an archaeological city and a mediterranean city. The stress between the new-old, natural-cultural in terms of urban characteristics, geography and history is important.\nJOURNEY, SPACE, TIME Archipelago as a metaphor and the palimpsest situation associate the concept of journey. The journey connects people, city and spaces by means of the time. It is the optimum condition for creation of space in cognitive process by the visual memory.The journey creates a cumulative vocabulary of urban characteristics.\nCULTURE, EVERDAY LIFE Intimacy and vitality of Mediterranean life, outside culture, sun culture are significant on design. The superposition of modern/ancient, local/global, public/private reveals as the climatic attitude, traditional understanding, life style in daily routine. These interaction makes the everday life dominant on city’s character.\nSITE, LAYERS The notion of journey can be traced via places and paths. In the mid of the crossections and different areas –housing, entertaining, musing-, architecture becomes the cumulative expression of the urban experience. ATLAS creates an hybridization process while disclosing the layers of the area. It pays attention to transportation, integration and vistas. \nPROGRAM, PROCESS, SUSTAINABILITY The programatization of the area depends on the existing functions and hybridity: musing, experiencing and dwelling. ATLAS proposes a processual project in the site. The excavation area is proposed as a recreational archaeo-park at the same time. The dwelling program is proposed to use as an income-generating function like an hostel during the excavation and then housing. In addition, proposed archaeo-research center transforms into an exhibition and education space after excavation. The complex also includes viewing terrace, broadcasting surfaces and activity areas. ATLAS creates a public circulation system inside the built environment in which everyone can experience the intimacy of the daily life and join the common activities.