The aim of this thesis is to study the planning and management of public or communal properties in Greece, focusing on the utilization of vacant or underused buildings and public spaces. The initiative for this research emerged from the significant number of unused public assets, identified during a survey carried out as part of our research project, completed in January 2025.
This study focuses on the planning and management of the property of the Thermal Baths of Thermi, which belongs to the Municipality of Thessaloniki. The site includes a number of vacant buildings that housed bath facilities until 2012. The proposed approach is based on forms of management grounded in the legal structures of the social and solidarity economy, as well as active participation from civil society.
The project proposes the gradual activation of the entire area, which spans 500 acres within a unique pine forest. In the first phase, the study explores ways to design and implement collective forms of housing, in response to the international housing crisis observed in recent years.
As a continuation of this inquiry and through direct engagement with citizen initiatives and the local community, the reuse of some of the existing buildings is proposed through the integration of programs related to the food cycle (production, processing, consumption).
Finally, in the last phase of the design, the presence of thermal springs on the site becomes the basis for exploring ways to include and integrate diverse social groups, with a focus on care, healing, and relaxation