Project Details
Student/s: Sofoklis Kondakis
Date: September 20, 2016
This thesis has two purposes: on the one hand, the experimental investigation of concepts such as flow and limit in public space through analog and digital models using modern methods and design tools which integrate scripting elements, and on the other hand, the evaluation of the experiments through the development of a design proposal in the urban fabric of Thessaloniki adapted to the context.
The site of the intervention is the square Minas Patrikiou (or Parko tis Kritis- Park of Crete), although it is an important location, at the confluence of five roads with radial layout, today presents strongly leaving marks from their users. Therefore, basic intention is to create a “magnet” for users of public space with a core in Minas Patrikiou Square and the streets leading to it.
According to the understanding of the site, public space consists of movement and stops or barriers. Trying to blend the boundaries between movements and stops, after much investigation, the thesis suggests a design system in which movement and stop blend and live together harmoniously. This system presents increased customization in a public place while expressing the fluidisation of threshold in the contemporary reality.
Basic design intent is to create a united, open and safe public space. More specifically, the main intentions are to improve the relationship with the urban fabric, suggesting some new pedestrian zones around the square and the degradation of the level of the square in order to incorporate on it the various uses of the square, such as sitting areas, auditorium, playground, area for relax with present of liquid component and fitness area without limiting visibility and safety in the urban fabric.
So, come a space which is flexible and adapted to modern reality by recognizing specificities of its space and society, a place which is secure and open to all, a space which respects the natural environment and the local society while striving for a harmonious coexistence, for a fluidisation of their thresholds.