The major purpose of this thesis is the attempt to study the evolutionary route of the peninsula of the Greek island Andros and particularly its capital, Chora, in a timeline from the 13th to 21st century. This attempt will contribute to the understanding of the importance of Choras historical value and in which way its social and cultural components defined the crucial role, not only in a spatial, but in a social level too.
Andros is the second largest island of a group of islands named Kyklades, and Chora is located in the southeast part of Andros. Through the 13th to the 21st century, Chora developed numerous periods of cultural and economic prosperity, which are captured in various buildings which represent the traces of the people in the landscape.
Chora avoided to follow the standardized patterns of touristic prosperity and maintained its urban character, full of cultural wealth, which captured in its architectural style.
On the other hand, Chora seemed to avoid any interference of refine in its architectural style, like the one that its society had acculturated through the years. The selection of Chora was the result of its cultural identity which tries to preserve and promote the sector of tourism, even now, in a period of dormancy.
In the first part, the major issues of lack of development, social coherence, and environmental degradation are presented and putted in categories. Secondly, a selection of specific places of Chora is presented. Those places determined a crucial role in Choras social and cultural presence and our proposals for further interference in these places is presented.
The purpose of our proposal is the improvement of the present infrastructure, the harmonic structure of its usage, and finally, the urban planning and cultural refreshment of those places we selected.