The squares of Athens: a path of challenges and ruptures

Abstract

The squares of Athens have gone through a special trajectory, in parallel with the equally special trajectory of the city’s history. This essay attempts to go through the design of the squares of the Greek capital diachronically, and where possible to take a position on the issues concerning them. In its historical part, the paper begins with the conceptual principle of the symbolic construction and expression of the new role of the city, drawing mainly from the seminal and complex works of authors such as K.Biris. It attempts to compile information on the squares of modern and post-modern Athens, creating a narrative of an evolution with many obstacles and less progress on the subject in relation with its importance and with the scale of the city. For the most modern era, the essay mainly draws on the personal experience and critical disposition of its authors, goes back to the times of architectural competitions, and the new period of the employment of the ‘green’ concept, as an expression of our era of eco-environmental sustainability. At the same time, the paper holds a sceptical position concerning the diachronic transformation of the squares with regard to their conceptual authenticity.