Olive growing is the cultivation symbol of Skiathos island. In the post-war years, there were twenty oil mills, several of which were located in the center of island. The 20th century is a turning point for the architectural physiognomy of the islands of the North Aegean, with the typical case of Skiathos.
In Skiathos, which was completely transformed into an island only for tourism, during the 1970s and 2000s, types of buildings began to "disappear", which in the past were widespread, such as olive mills, due to the great interest of residents in tourism and facilities. The result of this development is the absence of an olive mill from the island. For the past five years, the last olive grove on the island has been closed, and residents have been forced to transport tons of olive fruit to Glossa, a settlement in Skopelos, to produce olive oil. Thus, taking into account the lack of an olive mill from the island, we are organizing the issue of our thesis, in order to provide a solution through our proposal for the creation of an oil mill with olive tourism facilities in Skiathos.
The synthesis of the olive mill is organized in three thematic zones: the storage and auxiliary spaces, the production of olive oil and the visitors. The basic design principle is the porosity of the volume, which will ensure a constant contact and interaction of the zones. The aim is to connect the visitor with the olive grower, making the oiling process more understandable and experiential for the visitor. Although the connection between visitors and olive growers is the main concern of our composition, the production process and the movement of visitors are controlled, through oursynthesis, to ensure safety and functionality.
The visitor is not limited to a tour of the olive mill. He learns the whole environment of the olive tree. Olive tourism is the "aesthetics" of centuries-old olive trees, the beauty that olive groves give to the landscape. It is the Greek cuisine itself, inextricably linked with their fruits. It is also every organized action in the village or in the city, which conveys to the visitor the knowledge, the experience, but also the image of Greece all over the world, through the culture of olive oil.