The subject matter of this thesis is the suggestion of the utilization of three abandoned infrastructures of a plot in the center of Athens, with the goal of reusing them and simultaneously activating the urban fabric surrounding them. The district of Psiri was chosen as the study area, where a tendency of depreciation was noticed as far as the building stock and the degradation of the urban fabric are concerned.
Looking back on previous decades, traditional art workshops and leather, shoe and textile crafts prevailed in the district of Psiri. Over the years these functions started being eliminated, and their commercial character began to be replaced by uses that serve the tourism and entertainment sector instead. This way, the artistic and creative expression that took place in the area ceased, due to the lack of conditions and infrastructure. At the same time, immigrant population in the area keeps increasing, but without achieving their full integration into society, resulting in the creation of ghettoization features.
In view of the historical craft character of the area, our goal is the recovery of the secondary sector, which in combination with the tertiary will create new situations and interactions between citizens and visitors. Regarding the uses that are gathered in the areas of the plot we have chosen, we aim to have them stem from the needs of the time, and also from the special features of the area. We also strive for an attempt at active participation of all population groups and at the eradication of the feeling of insecurity that prevails.
Through research of the area, we conclude that the fabric, and more specifically the processing and the general engagement around it, can be the common vocabulary between individuals, as it is the element contained in the stories and traditions of each culture. We try, therefore, to create social spaces for the interaction of individuals, which is achieved through education, artistic employment and creation.