Evangelismos Metro Station
Evangelismos area is a polyvalent hub for the city of Athens; a pivotal point of urban mobility redistributing pedestrian and vehicular flows. In immediate proximity we come upon a series of public uses and buildings, significant roadways, access points to urban public transportation, and extensive green spaces within a continuous urban network. The paradoxical suspension between the concepts of the “hub”, where multiple flows converge and intertwine, and that of an “urban isle”, as an area secluded by major road axes, poses a challenging yet captivating architectural provocation.
Location: Athens, Greece
Year: 2023
Area: 9.670m²
Category: Landscape, Competition
Awards: 2nd Prize
Publication: Archisearch [LINK]
Dimitrios Stefanakis – Studio 99
Evangelos Koutsioumpas – nonstatestudio
Athanasios Mousmoulidis – MID Studio
Foteini Giamakou – Giamakos Architects
Nikos Soulakis– S.Ar, Michael Polymenides – SpaceOP
Konstantinos Trichias – LAASTIK
Giannis Retsios – Student of Architecture
Themis Nanas – Student of Architecture
Kornilia Christodoulou – Student of Architecture
Eleftheria Zanidaki – Architect Engineer
Stelina Tsiantou -Landscape Architect
Sotiris Giamakos – Giamakos Architects.
Collaborators:
Urban vision and proposal in collaboration with Commonspace Co-op https://www.commonspace.gr/ :
Andritsos Thanos, Architect Engineer – Urban Planner
Paraskevopoulos Yannis, Topographer – Survey Engineer – Urban Planner
Koumparelou Artemis, Architect Engineer – Geographer
Transportation study in collaboration with Polinde https://polinde.com/el/Home/About :
Toumpoulidou Emily – Transportation Engineer
Consultants:
Chatzinikolaou Nikos – Civil Engineer – PLASIO LTD
Dionisiou Panagiotis – HVAC Engineer
Zervas Giorgos – Civil Engineer – Hydraulic works
Michailidou Evaggelia – Environmentalist – Architect
Karapanos Stavros – Agriculturalist
Our proposal aims to address this dual character of the park by redefining and activating the area, while retaining elements and characteristics that constitute its identity. The park’s role as a hub of urban mobility is strategically reinforced by delineating new paths and preserving existing routes, while subtle design manipulations, near the human scale, aesthetically enhance the area.
Mild architectural interventions, stretching to the limits of necessity, and the reorganization of greenery, following the subway excavation works, emphasize the functioning of the park as an urban grove, while the reuse of existing materials contributes in sustaining a minimal ecological footprint. On a city planning scale, Rizari Street is converted into a low-traffic street securing the most efficient link between the park and the city’s network of green public spaces.
The existing visual contrast within Rizari Park, built using two distinct architectural styles, is reconciled through the reorganization of existing materials and the introduction of new neutral elements. Following an exploration of patterns and shapes, we arrive with a new syntax of materiality and morphological solutions that can achieve complexity on a small scale; alternating textures and materials stimulate the senses and engage visitors to interact with the urban greenery.
