The main aim of the proposal was the transformation of a "dead of life" marina into a vital retail space and also the expansion of the city towards the sea.
The accomplishment of that goal was mainly based on three factors: Form, Space, Uses.
Form
In order to create a strong identity to the site, which would be visible both from land and from the sea, the architectural intervention's form was comprehended as a forthcoming landmark of the surrounding area.
To achieve that goal, the idea of the "wave" (inspired from the continuous waving of the sea) was applied on the market's shelter design. The market's roof top "vibrates" in parallel with the road and signifies the whole intervention towards the city, while it turns and bursts towards the sea in order to "fill" the city's image to the passing by boats.
Space
The main spatial features of the whole project are the optical connections and the multiple accesses from the city to the sea. The built environment stands as the "meshed" intermediate stage between the city and the sea.
The decreasing of the optical barriers and the increasing of the entries are achieved through the waving boundary of the market's shelter
and through the "carving" of dense accesses. The ramp that leads to the restaurants, the vertical sections between the cafes which release various optical connections and dense accesses, the wavy shelter of the market and the ramp that leads from the exhibition spaces to the promenade form a space which releases various optical connections and accesses.
Uses
The goal of the proposal is to create a mixed used environment, which will be compatible with the existing environment's character and needs, in order to attract to the majority of the population during the whole year. The selected uses (cinemas, cafes, restaurants, market, and mythological park) refer to various ages and kinds of people aiming to create a diverse and full of life environment every day. The main goal is the nowadays "enclosed" marina, to be transformed into a city's vital retailing space, a new landmark which reconfigures the relation between the city and the sea.
In collaboration with the architecture practices:
Maria Kokkinou + Andreas Kourkoulas
Antonia Panou
EDAW / AECOM
