Archiving Metaxourgio
Paper published in “Joelho Journal of Architectural Culture”
11th + 12th issue “Archaeology, Landscape, Architecture: Crossings of Reciprocal Learnings”, 2020, pp. 167-184
Extract from the publication of the journal
ABSTRACT
An ‘archive’ is a totality of records, layers and memories that are collected. A city is an archive that consists of the conscious selection of these layers and traces of the past and the present, looking towards the future. Metaxourgio is an area in the wider historic urban area of Kerameikos in Athens that includes traces of various eras, beginning in antiquity and continuing all the way into the 21st century. Its archaeological space ‘Demosion Sema’ is mostly concealed below ground level, waiting to be revealed. In this proposal, the area of Southern Metaxourgio is redesigned in light of archiving. Significant traces of antiquity, other ruins and buildings are studied, selected, and incorporated into new interventions. The area becomes an ‘open archive’ that leads towards its new character. The proposal aims not only to intensify the relationship of architecture with archaeology but also to imbue the area’s identity with meanings that refer to the past, present, and future.
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