A proposal: From decay to participatory green urban regeneration | Heinrich Böll Stiftung

ARTICLE

This article focuses on the green, healthy recovery of the city through the restoration of crumbling architectural and historical monuments, and their integration into green zones with an emphasis on nature-based solutions.

On the occasion of another destruction of a building in Drakopoulos Park: Instead of architectural and historical monuments disappearing before our eyes, let's integrate them into a green, healthy recovery of the city.

On Sunday, 21 February, a story slipped into the news: “A fire that broke out in a building resulted in the collapse of its wall on Patision Street (in Ano Patisia)”. It was yet another disaster of a place of unique architectural, industrial and cultural significance: Drakopoulos Park!

Once upon a time, in Drakopoulos Park –an area of nine acres, surrounded by Patision Street, Porphyra Street and Heraklion Avenue, while its 4th side is bordered by an apartment building– there were 4 buildings, representative of the industrial and urban architecture of the 19th and early 20th century in Athens, with particular architectural features and of considerable historical importance (a unit of urban housing and craft industry, one of the few remaining in Athens):

1. The textile factory (spinning mill, weaving mill), founded in 1882 by the company “S. Vezanis and Selas”. In 1921, the business was purchased by the company of Drakopoulos brothers, who were nephews of the textile factory owner in Ermoupolis, Syros, D. N. Karellas. The factory was later turned into a cotton mill and ceased operations in the mid-1950s, shortly after the death of one of the two brothers, K. Drakopoulos.

2. The villa (mansion) of the two brothers, K. and A. Drakopoulos, built next to the factory. It is (was) one of the few examples of 19th century eclecticism in Athens, with its characteristic hexagonal tower. In 1995, a dental clinic for AIDS patients was established in the villa. However, in 1998, it was abandoned and looted. In 2007, the building suffered further severe damage after a fire and it collapsed completely after successive fires in 2014.

3. The office building and an ancillary building (in neoclassical style) of the villa and the factory.

At that time, Patisia was the garden of Athens, with estates, towers, country houses and lots of water. This was where Athenians came to dip their feet in the Podoniftis River, to get water, to shop for vegetables, barley and other agricultural products.

Near the estate, at the end of the 19th century, were the lines of the "Beast", the railway that connected the area with the city centre [It was passing by the area that Athens Piraeus Electric Railway (ISAP) is located today]. That attracted other industrial activities to the area, taking advantage of the available water, the stream of Podonifti and its tributaries, and the proximity of the region to centres producing raw materials for textile, carpet, cotton mills etc. (cotton, wool, silk etc.).

Indeed, the original owner of the site (Vezanis) had wells and exported water to the “thirsty” Athens (“water Vezanis”).

The issue had caused a lot of controversy. There was even an agreement between Vezanis and the Municipality of Athens to transport the water to... Athens with pipes that came from... Europe.

A brief history

-In 1977, when the second brother, A. Drakopoulos, died, the property was bequeathed to the Hellenic Red Cross for public benefit purposes.

-In 1981, when the city plan of Athens was amended, the property was characterised as public green area (Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment, Georgios Plytas, Government Gazette 513/16.09.81).

-In 1982, 3 of the 4 buildings (the mansion, the offices and the ancillary building) were listed by the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment as preserved, but the one of the milling plant was left out.

-In 1983, the Ministry of Culture (Government Gazette 621/B/27.10.1983, Minister M. Mercouri) characterised the mansion as a “work of art” and the surrounding area with all the buildings included in it (the milling factory as well), as a “place of historical importance”.

The Presidential Decree 573/83 (Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and Environment, Minister A. Tritsis) designated the whole Drakopoulos estate as green area and the buildings on it as listed.

-In 1985, most of the estate was converted into a public park by the Municipality of Athens.

According to the Central Council for Planning, Development and the Environment (08/12/1982), “The most interesting of the buildings is the Drakopoulos mansion, remarkable example of late 19th century eclecticism. It has a pitched tiled roof with steep slope. Southwest of the building there is a hexagonal tower and around it a roofed wooden balcony with wooden railing.

A second interesting building is located on Patision Street. It is a neoclassical building with axial symmetry on the façades. It has a tiled roof that ends in a simple cornice and below it, between the openings, there are simple decorative drops...

The third interesting building has the main façade on Patision Street. It is a two-storey neoclassical building with axial symmetry. In the middle of the main façade it has an simple axial railing and marble corbels...”.

- In 1991, the Hellenic Red Cross succeeded in the delisting of the buildings of the mill, by the Deputy Minister of Culture A. Psarouda-Benakis (Kon. Mitsotakis as Prime Minister).

- In 2003, while Dora Bakoyannis was Mayor, the city plan was amended again, definitively removing the State's claims over a part of the estate and cancelling the designation of the factory buildings.

- On 12/01/2004, the government approved the delisting by decision of the Deputy Minister Rodoula Zisi.

Gradually, the mansion and other buildings were looted and their important architectural elements were removed.

- In 2007, a major fire breaks out and damages the villa.

- In July 2009, the Mayor of Athens N. Kaklamanis signed a “memorandum of cooperation” with the president of the Hellenic Red Cross A. Martinis for the “reconstruction of two buildings in the park, one of 4,000 m2 for the Red Cross and the Municipality of Athens, and one of 5,000 m2 for the developer (shops, apartments). Parking for 300 cars and 3,000 m2 of office space were planned for the relocation of the Hellenic Red Cross services”. He ignored the decision of the Architectural Control Committee which expressed its opinion in 2006: “The Committee does not agree to the demolition of the buildings because of their special use (factory), the size of the main building and their morphological features, and because of their proximity to listed buildings on the block”.

- A few days later, during the August holidays (12/08/2009), crews of the Hellenic Red Cross entered the estate and, with the assistance of police forces, demolished some of the listed buildings.

- On 13/09/2009, the Residents' Committee for the Rescue of Drakopoulos estate, with the central slogan “After the fires...not a single metre of cement”, organised the planting of 70 trees in the area where the buildings were demolished, with the aim of leaving the entire area of the estate as a single public green space. A children's playground was also created.

- On New Year's Day of 2012, a fire broke out in one of the listed buildings of the park, the villa.

- On 18/05/2014 (Election Day), a fire broke out in another building of Drakopoulos Park.

- On 31/05/2014, there was a new arson attack on buildings of the estate.

-On 02/07/2014, it was the third consecutive arson on the Estate within a few months.

Eventually, the Drakopoulos mansion was burnt to the ground and it collapsed after all these fires.

-On 21/02/2021, a fire broke out and a wall of the last remaining building of the estate collapsed.

And now what? A proposal for the area in question

The central administration and the Municipality of Athens must protect the architectural and historical heritage, and restore the destroyed buildings in Drakopoulos Park, while preserving their architectural style.

But, as active citizens, we must demand a comprehensive plan that will connect the Drakopoulos Park with the FIX Park (where a building of similar value was also destroyed by fire recently), the stream of Podonifti, the Probonas Grove to the Philadelphia Grove, the Antonis Tritsis Park on one side and the Veikou Grove on the other, as well as a number of important industrial buildings (Britannia, VEK, Vamvakourgia, Minos - EMI, and many reminders of industrial activity in the wider region of Ano Patisia, Nea Ionia, Nea Philadelphia, Nea Chalkidona, Neo Heraklion), creating an integrated area of green spaces and architectural and industrial monuments, aiming at cultural, social, green and innovative activities, while highlighting “nature based solutions”.

This area is also of particular importance for the promotion of its refugee history, while the arrival of refugees led to the boom of industries there.

The Recovery Fund could offer a realistic opportunity to finance the green regeneration of the city, bringing the historic buildings of the area into today's world and creating such an important green - culture - innovation zone. But I fear that it does not include regeneration of spaces within the urban area, although it would improve the quality of life of citizens and make cities healthier and more resilient to both the climate and ecological crisis, as well as to the next phase of health crises.

The importance of nature-based solutions

In recent years, international organisations such as the European Environment Agency have pointed out that we need a new approach that combines climate protection with the restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems, and that nature-based solutions are the right tool for synergies. Experts and several cities are increasingly developing plans to cool cities in the summer (either at neighbourhood or city-wide level) using nature-based solutions, also called green infrastructure.

The wider area from Patisia to Nea Ionia, Neo Heraklion, Nea Philadelphia, Nea Chalkidona, Galatsi and Agioi Anargyroi could be a “green experiment” for regeneration and revitalisation through green alternatives and mainly through nature-based solutions. It includes many smaller and larger parks that do not form a single “green belt”, but it is an important passage for cycling routes, where some wetlands and natural places are still preserved (Podonifti stream, Antonis Tsitsis Park, Hadrian Aqueduct). On the other hand, important remains of industrial and architectural wealth could be restored and reused for cultural, educational and environmental activities through cooperative schemes.

A similar proposal could have been promoted in the southern suburbs, having the former Elliniko airport as its central point, but unfortunately its management has turned to an outdated real estate project, which does not revitalise the city but adds developments that burden the wider area (new constructions, the addition of skyscrapers, new shopping centres, new housing, casinos, etc.).

Let us at least bring out a different perspective for this area, in the context of a new green urban regeneration plan for Attica which suffers so much from overbuilding, car dominance, air pollution and the lack of green belts. The aim should be to create interventions that renew the city's air and cool it down, create local “recreational” places close to homes and schools, and help to reduce car use, while increasing cycling and walking.

Therefore, Wind of Renewal is inviting institutions, active citizens, educational institutions and civil society to collaborate and highlight together –and each from their own field of activity– a detailed GREEN PLAN - PROPOSAL "participatory green revitalisation of a wide area in Attica” for the first time . Such a project could also be a way of testing

nature-based green solutions,
participatory planning in the field,
the connection between climate footprint reduction targets and increased presence of nature in the city,
the potential of less car use and, at the same time, more cycling and walking, and
the energy transition at neighbourhood and district level.

In a next phase, it could be a field for testing and implementing renewable energy cooperative schemes, demonstrating model energy saving activities in buildings (the rehabilitation should be combined with their conversion to zero-energy buildings) and using renewable energy sources in urban areas and neighbourhoods. At the same time, public and private buildings such as schools and hospitals (e.g. Agia Olga) or craft and industrial buildings could also be involved in such an integrated project.

Let us not be afraid of any obstacles and difficulties. Let us learn from similar good examples and work with creativity to accomplish the changes we need.

Wind of Renewal is open to such participatory, multi-disciplinary and innovative cooperation: If you are interested send a message to windofrenewal@gmail.com and we will contact you

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An interesting thesis (07/09/2016) proposes: “Interactive playscapes in Drakopoulou park”. An open-air school in Ano Patisia.

Student: Tselepi, Stella-Marie,

Thesis Professors: Konstantinos Moraitis, Stavros Stavrides

Thesis Advisors: Dina Vaiou, Panayotis Vasilatos

School of architecture, National Technical University of Athens

Day of Presentation: 22/07/2015

The topic of the thesis concerns the regeneration of Drakopoulos Park in the area of Ano Patisia, Athens, through the combination of elements of industrial history with the current strong presence of children in the Park. This proposal seeks to create a space where children's energy will be put on educational and recreational tours.