the phoenix zone

The Phoenix ZoneAn extraordinary story of Outscape Urbanism

UCL, The Bartlett School of ArchitectureMArch Urban Design 11-12

Jason Coleman & RobeRt Dye PublisheRs

lieve smout & GeoffRey leahy

Born and raised in Brussels, Belgium, Lieve has ob-tained her Masters in Architecture at the Free Univer-sity Brussels in 2011. After broadening her horizons in Gothenburg (Sweden) and Shanghai (China), she met Geoffrey Leahy during her studies Urban Design at the Bartlett School Of Architecture (London, UK). While re-searching the city of Athens, they came in contact with the Phoenix Strategist Movement and decided to dedi-cate their professional career to the Phoenix Zone.

After obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in Product Design at the University of Leeds, Geoff Leahy decided to broaden his design focus and went on to study at Bart-lett School of Architecture where he enrolled in a Mas-ter’s student in Urban Design. Whilst there he explored an array of urban design issues and concepts, with par-ticular emphasis on the ‘Ideal City’. During his research trip to Athens, he collaborated with Lieve Smout. Fol-lowing this they formed a partnership with the Phoenix Strategist Movement

Lieve Smout

Geoffrey Leahy

JaSon CoLeman & robert Dye PubLiSheRs

With the greatfull support of our Publisher, Colin Fournier and Graciela Moreno.

‘We, Lieve Smout & Geoffrey Leahy, confirm that the work pre-sented is our own. Where information has been derived from other sources, we confirm that this has been indicated.’

Copyright 2047

In Collaboration with UCL,

Bartlett School of Architecture,

MArch Urban Design 11-12

All visuals are derived from the authors or the contrib-utor and are consequently intellectual property of the Phoenix Strategist Movement.

From 23 March 2047 till 31 Au-gust 2047 the Bartlett School of Architecture hosted the ex-hibition ‘The Phoenix Zone: 35 years of Outscape Urbanism’ to celebrate the 35th birthday of the Phoenix Zone. Lieve Smout & Geoffrey Leahy curat-ed the exhibition, both of them urban designers who have been strongly involved in the history of the Phoenix Zone. Due to the exhibition’s success, this cat-alogue was set up afterwards based on the material collected for the exhibition.

Exhibition

5

AThenS 2012. The city finds itself in one of the greatest crises in its existence. Flooding risk,

corrupt politics, a yearly smog blanket, constantly increasing landfills, a lack in innovation and

an ever growing carpet of polykatoikias all threaten what was once the origin of civilization.

Whatever the Ideal City may be, it is certainly not this Athens. More worryingly, Athens is not an isolated case; Athens is dotted

around the world.

If people don’t live in an Ideal City, pioneers will seek to create it. history shows various examples where cities have been created that

step outside the existing city. These cities of ‘Outscape Urbanism’ seek

for a permanent or temporary form of isolation in order to strive for and to create their Ideal.

AThenS 2047. This is exactly what happened in the Phoenix Zone over the

last 35 years. In this place, Athenians have strived towards finding their Ideal by stepping out-

side regular Athens. With our help and knowledge, a truly wonderful place has been established

where urban freedom and experiment are the key words.

The next pages unfurl the story of the Phoenix Zone through the eyes of six of its inhabitants

who consciously choose to change their way of urban living. On our request, they have provided

us with their diaries and photographs, which allowed us to reconstruct the chronology of the

Phoenix Zone. At the same time, we asked them to write a short paragraph about how they

imagine the future of this place, putting the Phoenix Zone into a broader perspective. We are

very grateful to them for their collaboration.

lieve smout & GeoffRey leahy, 23 maRCh 2047.

Abstract

6

AThenS 2012. The city finds itself in one of the greatest crises in its existence. Flooding risk,



Whatever the Ideal City may be, it is certainly not this Athens. More worryingly, Athens is not an isolated case; Athens is dotted

around the world.

If people don’t live in an Ideal City, pioneers will seek to create it. history shows various examples where cities have been created that

step outside the existing city. These cities of ‘Outscape Urbanism’ seek

for a permanent or temporary form of isolation in order to strive for and to create their Ideal.

AThenS 2047. This is exactly what happened in the Phoenix Zone over the

last 35 years. In this place, Athenians have strived towards finding their Ideal by stepping out-

side regular Athens. With our help and knowledge, a truly wonderful place has been established

where urban freedom and experiment are the key words.


who consciously choose to change their way of urban living. On our request, they have provided

us with their diaries and photographs, which allowed us to reconstruct the chronology of the

Phoenix Zone. At the same time, we asked them to write a short paragraph about how they



lieve smout & GeoffRey leahy, 23 maRCh 2047.

Abstract

6

Content

it all staRteD online 10Contribution by all Penelope Chontos

26base CamP

Contribution by Neckarios Argryion

42Contribution by Jeno DrakosGyPsie town

54Contribution by Elissa KakossPeakeRs town

66Contribution by Delia Kostouplosfestival

80lookinG baCk & lookinG aheaD

68Contribution by Neckarios ArgryiontoRnaDo town

7

We dedicate this catalogue to Neckarios who left us shortly before the publication.

That he may rest in the Phoenix Zone.

8

We dedicate this catalogue to Neckarios who left us shortly before the publication.

That he may rest in the Phoenix Zone.

8

Contributors

PeneLoPe ChontoS

As an IT consultant specializing in social networks, Penelope is always completely aware of what is occurring in cyber space. Consequently, it is not an accident that she became involved in the setting up of the Phoenix Strategist Movement. Knowing very well which channels to use, her skills were very useful during the run up to the Phoenix Zone.

neCkarioS arGryion

As one of the people involved with the start up of the Phoenix Strategist Movement, Neckarios Argryion is a true pioneer of the Phoenix Zone. Unemployed during the 2012 Athenian crisis, this young soil engineer decided to radically alter his life’s direction. His technical knowledge was of great importance for the Phoenix Zone.

Jeno DrakoS

Before the crisis hit Athens in 2012, Jeno Drakos was active as film assistant specializing in documentaries. Two years before he joins the Phoenix Strategist Movement, he helped film ‘Garbage Warrior’, a documentary about sustainable housing. This experience inspires him to go to the Phoenix Zone to change the future of housing.

eLiSSa kakoS

Holding a degree in law, Elissa had been interning for two years before her office went bank-rupt in 2012. Within her short career, Elissa was repeatedly confronted with the famous Greek corruption and time consuming bureaucracy. Determined to change matters and to go back to Greece’s democratic roots, elissa decides to join the Phoenix Zone.

DeLia koStouPLoS

Delia got to know the Phoenix Zone when a friend drags her along to a guided tour. This made her so enthusiastic she decides to exchange her life in the city to become a Phoenix member. She becomes one of the co-founders of the Phoenix festival. She uses her experience as head stylist in a fashion magazine to influence the creativity of the festival.

Stefan mikoS

As an artist, Stefan has been travelling the whole world building installations and turning the obvious into the unexpected. When he heard about the Phoenix Zone, he flew back to Athens. With finally something moving in his city in crisis, he felt called to go back and contribute his part.

9

It all started online

2012 - 2013

Contribution by Penelope Chontos

Athens 2012. All of us were Tweeting constantly, be-cause we had the time. The crisis hit Athens so hard that none of us had a job. Yet all five of us were holding an academic degree, we were captured in a low-paid labour economy with no possible escape. Our Tweets were our method to keep our brains alive. Each of us specialized in certain topics, which made the discussions really in-teresting.

We had conversations about the river Kifissos and how Athens had turned its back on it by polluting and cana-lizing it. We talked about how Athens piled up its waste several kilometres outside the city and how poor gar-bage foragers were walking around the centre, picking up garbage, in the hope to get some money for it. An-other hot topic was the nefos, the yearly summer smog blanket, which has caused cancer to several people we knew. One that sparked great debates was the topic of the failing democracy, with the fakelaki – a small enve-lope full of money to bribe – as ultimate example. This, together with the unchangeable vast carpet of polyka-toikia’s, made Athens a city in decay.

1

extract of Twitter conversation.

12 13

Our Phoenix was dying,so why didn’t we make

him rise again?

When all the different problems of Athens became clear, we started wondering why Athens hadn’t shown any clear attempts so far to tackle these challenges. In our eyes, there were so many unused assets: 300 days of sunshine per year, several powerful natural streams and winds, the river Kifissos, an ideal climate to grow food, several open spaces inside the city centre…

Why didn’t we undertake action ourselves? We had the time and the intellectual capabilities. Why were we standing back and watching things get worse? In our debates, the metaphor of the Phoenix came across. When Greece gained independency in 1830 its national emblem was chosen as the Phoenix. This mythological bird decays to ashes after death to then resurrect with new power and strength. Our Phoenix was dying, so why didn’t we make him rise again? The Phoenix Strategists Movement was born.

1

1. Phoenix Strategist Movement Statement.

14 15

If Athens didn’t allow us to search for solutions, we had to look for a place

outside of Athens. We had to look for a Phoenix Zone.

We wanted to undertake action and so we started mak-ing plans. At that moment, Lieve and Geoffrey joined our conversation. They had an important message for us. ‘We think we have to warn you. The main reason why Athens is lacking in innovation is due to its strict ur-ban form. As you know, all of Athens is covered with polykatoikias (literally ‘many residencies’). These are multi-story buildings with a concrete building structure. Their mass construction started after World War II and boomed during the 1960s and 1970s. They were promot-ed by the authorities through antiparochi: a single-joint venture bringing together a landowner and a building contractor, who jointly divided the built property pro-duced by the latter on the owner’s parcel. The mixed use of the polykatoikia ,commercial and housing, played a key role in shaping the character of Greek cities.The strict grid of the polykatoikia resulted in an aggres-sive sprawl that completely ignored the cities natural characteristics and consequently its many possibilities. Instead of adapting to its environment, the polykatoikia stubbornly copied itself everywhere. It turned into a de-pendent city block, feeding its infrastructure with resourc-es from all over the world. Over the years, this typology became completely embedded in the Greek culture and in the Greek planning laws. Nowadays, the polykatoikia is incontournable and gives almost no opportunities to test solutions that could deal with Athens’ problems. We highly doubt that the Athenians would allow you to touch their polykatoikias.’The explanation of these two, so far unknown to people like us, made us rethink our plans. If Athens didn’t allow us to search for solutions, we had to look for a place outside of Athens. We had to seek for a form of isolation. Curing the city needed a detour outside the city. We had to look for a Phoenix Zone.

From then on, Lieve and Geoff would help us with their knowledge. Both urban designers, they became the ur-ban thinkers of our Movement. Together, we looked upon the map of Greater Athens to find a strategic spot. Im-mediately, one place stepped forward: eleonas. Situat-ed to the west of the city center, a stone’s throw away from Athens well known triangle, the place runs as a scar through the vast carpet of polykatoikias.

2

1

1. Topographical model of Athens.2. Map of Athens.

16



We wanted to undertake action and so we started mak-ing plans. At that moment, Lieve and Geoffrey joined our conversation. They had an important message for us. ‘We think we have to warn you. The main reason why Athens is lacking in innovation is due to its strict ur-ban form. As you know, all of Athens is covered with polykatoikias (literally ‘many residencies’). These are multi-story buildings with a concrete building structure. Their mass construction started after World War II and boomed during the 1960s and 1970s. They were promot-ed by the authorities through antiparochi: a single-joint venture bringing together a landowner and a building contractor, who jointly divided the built property pro-duced by the latter on the owner’s parcel. The mixed use of the polykatoikia ,commercial and housing, played a key role in shaping the character of Greek cities.The strict grid of the polykatoikia resulted in an aggres-sive sprawl that completely ignored the cities natural characteristics and consequently its many possibilities. Instead of adapting to its environment, the polykatoikia stubbornly copied itself everywhere. It turned into a de-pendent city block, feeding its infrastructure with resourc-es from all over the world. Over the years, this typology became completely embedded in the Greek culture and in the Greek planning laws. Nowadays, the polykatoikia is incontournable and gives almost no opportunities to test solutions that could deal with Athens’ problems. We highly doubt that the Athenians would allow you to touch their polykatoikias.’The explanation of these two, so far unknown to people like us, made us rethink our plans. If Athens didn’t allow us to search for solutions, we had to look for a place outside of Athens. We had to seek for a form of isolation. Curing the city needed a detour outside the city. We had to look for a Phoenix Zone.

From then on, Lieve and Geoff would help us with their knowledge. Both urban designers, they became the ur-ban thinkers of our Movement. Together, we looked upon the map of Greater Athens to find a strategic spot. Im-mediately, one place stepped forward: eleonas. Situat-ed to the west of the city center, a stone’s throw away from Athens well known triangle, the place runs as a scar through the vast carpet of polykatoikias.

2

1

1. Topographical model of Athens.2. Map of Athens.

16



17

In section, this became even clearer. Figuring out the different city layers, we noticed that eleonas ripped up the polykatoikia layer. In this area, we could find the right spot. So close to and at the same time so far away from the city: ideal conditions for the Phoenix Zone.

We started to carefully study Eleonas. We came to know that during Antiquity it had been a sacred place of recre-ation and country promenades. The river Kifissos and its side streams made the soil so fertile that eleonas was characterized by an Arcadian landscape.

In the 19th century, when Athens started growing as a capital, eleonas (literally ‘olive grove’) supplied the city with agricultural products. At last, in the 20th century, in-dustrialization took place. All industries that needed a lot of water came to eleonas: soap facotries, paper mills, and tanneries. They polluted the water and reduced the fertility of the soil.

In the 1980s, the glory days were over. The industry left eleonas, and the result was a large empty gap in be-tween Athens’ polykatoikias. Over the years, the river, overbuilt by the highway, in the west and the train track in the east, stopped the polykatoikias from sprawling in. Currently eleonas is a landscape of hazardous indus-trial development with some small communities dotted around.

2

1

1. historical layers of eleonas.2. Section model of Athens.

18

Eleonas ripped up the polykatoikia

layer. In this area, we could find the

right spot.

19

Eleonas ripped up the polykatoikia

layer. In this area, we could find the

right spot.

19

We zoomed further in. Which sites could be in the run-ning to become the Phoenix Zone? We drew them onto the map, summing up their advantages and disadvan-tages.

One site in particular caught our eye. It was a derelict spot five minutes walk to the tube stop of Egaleo. It ad-dressed all the issues we had been discussing. The site consisted mainly of an empty, open space, implying a form of freedom to us. In the east there were some left over industrial buildings who were still in good condition and in the west the site was bordered by a side stream of the River Kifissos. Next to this river, there was a group of gypsies, collecting and reselling the waste that was brought to them by the foragers of the city centre. Con-sequently, they were in possession of amazing objects. This site had everything we wanted! Soon we agreed that this place should be the Phoenix Zone. We visited the site several times to make pictures and accurate drawings.

One site in particular cought our

eye.

1

2

3

4 54. Detail pictures site.3. Site.2. Map of Eleonas with likely Phoenix Zone plus environment.1. Map of eleonas with possible sites.

5. Panorama site.

20

We zoomed further in. Which sites could be in the run-ning to become the Phoenix Zone? We drew them onto the map, summing up their advantages and disadvan-tages.

One site in particular caught our eye. It was a derelict spot five minutes walk to the tube stop of Egaleo. It ad-dressed all the issues we had been discussing. The site consisted mainly of an empty, open space, implying a form of freedom to us. In the east there were some left over industrial buildings who were still in good condition and in the west the site was bordered by a side stream of the River Kifissos. Next to this river, there was a group of gypsies, collecting and reselling the waste that was brought to them by the foragers of the city centre. Con-sequently, they were in possession of amazing objects. This site had everything we wanted! Soon we agreed that this place should be the Phoenix Zone. We visited the site several times to make pictures and accurate drawings.

One site in particular cought our

eye.

1

2

3

4 54. Detail pictures site.3. Site.2. Map of Eleonas with likely Phoenix Zone plus environment.1. Map of eleonas with possible sites.

5. Panorama site.

20 21

At this point, there was only one next step to take. We already made up our minds and were prepared. now the time had come to persuade the government. First of all, we needed them to lease us the land so we could start our Phoenix Zone. Secondly, they had to grant us spe-cial conditions in our Zone. We had to be released from the Law concerning Occupying and Squatting, the Safe-ty Codex for Dangerous experiments and the Planning Codex.

We prepared our meeting very well. We could feel the politicians were impressed with our knowledge but at the same time annoyed by our existence. Back in 2012, the crisis was so big that the government wanted to avoid at all times protest and revolutions. To avoid fuss, they agreed upon our request. Their only extra conditions were that we could only lease the land for 100 years and that we had to stay within the administrative boundary that would be set up for the Phoenix Zone. In this way, they wanted to make sure our thought wouldn’t expand into the city centre.

Through blogs, articles and Tweets, we built up a net-work of followers, people who believed in our story. The debate became more rich, the plans more clear. When we reached fifty people who where willing to join, we felt our time to go had come.

Now the time had come to persuade the government.

1

1. Phoenix Pact.

22

At this point, there was only one next step to take. We already made up our minds and were prepared. now the time had come to persuade the government. First of all, we needed them to lease us the land so we could start our Phoenix Zone. Secondly, they had to grant us spe-cial conditions in our Zone. We had to be released from the Law concerning Occupying and Squatting, the Safe-ty Codex for Dangerous experiments and the Planning Codex.

We prepared our meeting very well. We could feel the politicians were impressed with our knowledge but at the same time annoyed by our existence. Back in 2012, the crisis was so big that the government wanted to avoid at all times protest and revolutions. To avoid fuss, they agreed upon our request. Their only extra conditions were that we could only lease the land for 100 years and that we had to stay within the administrative boundary that would be set up for the Phoenix Zone. In this way, they wanted to make sure our thought wouldn’t expand into the city centre.

Through blogs, articles and Tweets, we built up a net-work of followers, people who believed in our story. The debate became more rich, the plans more clear. When we reached fifty people who where willing to join, we felt our time to go had come.

Now the time had come to persuade the government.

1

1. Phoenix Pact.

22 23

... off we went

Base Camp

2013 - 2018

Contribution by Neckarios Argryion

During the first six months we lived in survival mode. Even though the conditions were basic at first, every-body was motivated and enthusiastic. We occupied the existing buildings with our tents we had brought with us. It was quite chaotic to begin with, but after a while we installed shelves, partitions and closets. Most of the time, I walked around with Geoffrey and Lieve, who gave great advice on which materials to use, how to make joints et-cetera. In each building, a living room was created. They became a place where we would sit down to read a book after lunch or where it would be really cosy in the eve-nings with candlelight and a glass of wine. especially on rainy days, we would hang around here. Though the surrounding neighbourhood felt raw and cold, the Base Camp started to feel like a warm home.

Of course we also had to foresee solutions for our ba-sic needs with drinking water as a priority. Under my di-rection, water drainage points were installed onto each building. The water would run off the roofs into the fil-ters, which were constructed using a simple rock & sand technique, finally into a barrel with taps. I had learned this easy technique on a study trip to ethiopia four years ago. If people were thirsty they could simply fill a glass of refreshing water at these taps.

We also used the water flowing off the roofs in our ba-sic installations. Some drainages point’s water wasn’t filtered to the fullest since it would be used inside for our laundry and shower. The resulting grey water flowed di-rectly into what seemed like a pre-carved drainage sys-tem in the concrete slab behind the buildings. The toilet water on the other hand was carried away into a manure heap and would be used around the food place.

Our houseas a warm nest in raw Eleonas.

2. Drinking water tanks.1. Occupied buildings.

3. Piping at the back of the occupied buildings.

1

2 3

28

During the first six months we lived in survival mode. Even though the conditions were basic at first, every-body was motivated and enthusiastic. We occupied the existing buildings with our tents we had brought with us. It was quite chaotic to begin with, but after a while we installed shelves, partitions and closets. Most of the time, I walked around with Geoffrey and Lieve, who gave great advice on which materials to use, how to make joints et-cetera. In each building, a living room was created. They became a place where we would sit down to read a book after lunch or where it would be really cosy in the eve-nings with candlelight and a glass of wine. especially on rainy days, we would hang around here. Though the surrounding neighbourhood felt raw and cold, the Base Camp started to feel like a warm home.

Of course we also had to foresee solutions for our ba-sic needs with drinking water as a priority. Under my di-rection, water drainage points were installed onto each building. The water would run off the roofs into the fil-ters, which were constructed using a simple rock & sand technique, finally into a barrel with taps. I had learned this easy technique on a study trip to ethiopia four years ago. If people were thirsty they could simply fill a glass of refreshing water at these taps.

We also used the water flowing off the roofs in our ba-sic installations. Some drainages point’s water wasn’t filtered to the fullest since it would be used inside for our laundry and shower. The resulting grey water flowed di-rectly into what seemed like a pre-carved drainage sys-tem in the concrete slab behind the buildings. The toilet water on the other hand was carried away into a manure heap and would be used around the food place.

Our houseas a warm nest in raw Eleonas.

2. Drinking water tanks.1. Occupied buildings.

3. Piping at the back of the occupied buildings.

1

2 3

28 29

An important thing for us to do during the first weeks we were there, was breaching open the concrete canal walls of the side stream of the river Kifissos. This wall was the symbol of everything we rejected in Athens, this was the reason why we had left. everything inside us felt the urge to destroy this bad memory. Together with Geoffrey and Lieve, I drew a map of the river and with small soil tests we tried to determine were it would be most easy to breach. We figured out that breaches every 15 to 25 meters would be the most efficient. The most important breach was the one in the southern corner. The collision of the water and the river’s natural curve would cause the fastest erosion.

As by miracle, the whole job only took us one week. One week! I was completely surprised. On a normal con-struction site, this would have taken at least the double amount of time. It was amazing what the energy of fifty people, willing to change their lives, could establish in seven days. Though we were not completely sure what the result of this action would be, we were happy that we might have opened up chances to start living in a differ-ent way with the river Kifissos.

Breach the river30

An important thing for us to do during the first weeks we were there, was breaching open the concrete canal walls of the side stream of the river Kifissos. This wall was the symbol of everything we rejected in Athens, this was the reason why we had left. everything inside us felt the urge to destroy this bad memory. Together with Geoffrey and Lieve, I drew a map of the river and with small soil tests we tried to determine were it would be most easy to breach. We figured out that breaches every 15 to 25 meters would be the most efficient. The most important breach was the one in the southern corner. The collision of the water and the river’s natural curve would cause the fastest erosion.

As by miracle, the whole job only took us one week. One week! I was completely surprised. On a normal con-struction site, this would have taken at least the double amount of time. It was amazing what the energy of fifty people, willing to change their lives, could establish in seven days. Though we were not completely sure what the result of this action would be, we were happy that we might have opened up chances to start living in a differ-ent way with the river Kifissos.

Breach the river30

Breach the riverso we can live in peace with the Kifissos.

1. Phoenix members breaching ther river.

1

31

At the start, I suggested to strip some of the irrelevant buildings so that we could repair the occupied ones. As the material started to build up, some friends and I de-cided to create workshops, which would make the whole process a lot more organized. The workshops were po-sitioned at either end of the occupied site; this minimized construction traffic and also created a smoother oper-ation of the workshops. If anyone needed materials or needed to rent something, for example a generator, they would just go to the workshop, sign their name and that was that.

Around each workshop, a square started to form quite naturally. We named them Big and Small Phoenix Square. Firstly. There was a communal kitchen where a team of people worked every day to produce common meals; a lot of the food was cooked using simple solar oven techniques. nevertheless, the food was delicious and the meals often ended in long conversations about our Phoenix Zone and about what we thought about the world.

Furthermore, there was a Phoenix shelter, which was used for recreational activities such as bar areas, siestas, and gatherings. Its existence started off as an accident. One night we were sitting around the fire and Georges climbed onto the roof to cut a large phoenix shaped hole into the shade screen. At first we were all quite shocked, but then we realized it looked spectacular. The embers from the fire made the phoenix look alive. We decided to keep the hole; it acted as a reminder to us for why we were there.

Finally, on the Big Phoenix Square we decided to create a market space. This market, which only opened on Sun-days, was located at the old delivery section of one of the buildings. The lorry doors allowed for instant market stalls to be installed. Sunday was always the best day on the main square, everyone from the Phoenix Zone was there either relaxing under the Phoenix shelter, eating at the kitchen or browsing through the market stalls to choose their allocated supplies for the week.

Phoenix Squares

1. Big Phoenix Square.2. Small Phoenix Square.

2

1

32

At the start, I suggested to strip some of the irrelevant buildings so that we could repair the occupied ones. As the material started to build up, some friends and I de-cided to create workshops, which would make the whole process a lot more organized. The workshops were po-sitioned at either end of the occupied site; this minimized construction traffic and also created a smoother oper-ation of the workshops. If anyone needed materials or needed to rent something, for example a generator, they would just go to the workshop, sign their name and that was that.

Around each workshop, a square started to form quite naturally. We named them Big and Small Phoenix Square. Firstly. There was a communal kitchen where a team of people worked every day to produce common meals; a lot of the food was cooked using simple solar oven techniques. nevertheless, the food was delicious and the meals often ended in long conversations about our Phoenix Zone and about what we thought about the world.

Furthermore, there was a Phoenix shelter, which was used for recreational activities such as bar areas, siestas, and gatherings. Its existence started off as an accident. One night we were sitting around the fire and Georges climbed onto the roof to cut a large phoenix shaped hole into the shade screen. At first we were all quite shocked, but then we realized it looked spectacular. The embers from the fire made the phoenix look alive. We decided to keep the hole; it acted as a reminder to us for why we were there.

Finally, on the Big Phoenix Square we decided to create a market space. This market, which only opened on Sun-days, was located at the old delivery section of one of the buildings. The lorry doors allowed for instant market stalls to be installed. Sunday was always the best day on the main square, everyone from the Phoenix Zone was there either relaxing under the Phoenix shelter, eating at the kitchen or browsing through the market stalls to choose their allocated supplies for the week.

Phoenix Squares

1. Big Phoenix Square.2. Small Phoenix Square.

2

1

32

Phoenix Squaresin the heart of our settlement.

33

We used the roofs to create experiments that needed a lot of space such as the food pyramids and birdhouses. For me, this was a very exciting part of my stay. In uni-versity I had always learned about these kinds of things, but I had never practiced them myself. To make sure these experiments were in a safe place, we decided to put them on the rooftops. As work increased on the roof-tops so did human activity and very soon we decided to install a few bridges over the buildings so that people could travel across the occupied site on the roofs. In or-der to reach the rooftops multiple staircases and ladders were connected to the outside of the buildings as well as cranes to lift objects up. Since the roofs became so eas-ily accessible, they were in summer often used as sun bathing places. We just spread our towel on the roof, put our sunglasses on and turned the music up.

The staircases and ladders split up the long streets be-tween the buildings into smaller entities. Food tires were hung up using the buildings as anchor points. The bridg-es and the food tires provided protection from the rain and shading from the sun. A relaxed atmosphere was witnessed in the small streets, people would gather to play games such as chess or to have a chat.

The birdhouses completely failed. For one or other rea-son, the Athenians birds didn’t like our nests we tried to create for them. nevertheless, the food pyramids, which I cared a lot about, were a great success. They provided us with a wealthy amount of food and everybody seemed to quite like their aesthetics.

Our streetswhere we play chess in the shadow of the food tires.

1. Street in Base Camp.

1

34

We used the roofs to create experiments that needed a lot of space such as the food pyramids and birdhouses. For me, this was a very exciting part of my stay. In uni-versity I had always learned about these kinds of things, but I had never practiced them myself. To make sure these experiments were in a safe place, we decided to put them on the rooftops. As work increased on the roof-tops so did human activity and very soon we decided to install a few bridges over the buildings so that people could travel across the occupied site on the roofs. In or-der to reach the rooftops multiple staircases and ladders were connected to the outside of the buildings as well as cranes to lift objects up. Since the roofs became so eas-ily accessible, they were in summer often used as sun bathing places. We just spread our towel on the roof, put our sunglasses on and turned the music up.

The staircases and ladders split up the long streets be-tween the buildings into smaller entities. Food tires were hung up using the buildings as anchor points. The bridg-es and the food tires provided protection from the rain and shading from the sun. A relaxed atmosphere was witnessed in the small streets, people would gather to play games such as chess or to have a chat.

The birdhouses completely failed. For one or other rea-son, the Athenians birds didn’t like our nests we tried to create for them. nevertheless, the food pyramids, which I cared a lot about, were a great success. They provided us with a wealthy amount of food and everybody seemed to quite like their aesthetics.

Our streetswhere we play chess in the shadow of the food tires.

1. Street in Base Camp.

1

34 35

In the southern end of the Base Camp, the only non-con-crete part could be found. There was some grass grow-ing in the corner so the ground was quite likely to be fertile. Some people immediately wanted to start growing vegetables, but I warned them the soil might be heavily polluted by the previous industry. I told them I would test the soil and when I did so I wasn’t surprised to find dis-turbing results. however, the test also did show that it was only evident in the topsoil. To make the soil healthy again, phytoremediation was carried out. Following this, we created a variety of allotments, polydomes and trans-formed one of the buildings into a mushroom hub. The waste from the toilets was collected and used to fertilize this zone; two tanks were installed to store the manure. Learning our lesson from this case, we started phytore-mediation on the soil parts of the site and planted trees in the cracks of the concrete slabs. This was done both as a statement of our arrival but also for development purposes in the future.

Our foodgrown by some, eaten by all.

1. Food zone.

1

36 37

On a lazy Sunday, Geoffrey, some friends and myself felt like playing football. This was the start of the sports field. It was hidden away from most activity but it was great. It had many different sports going on all the time and an abundance of space made it easy to play with as many people as wanted. At the same time, the walls of the two surrounding buildings kept us out of the wind and their graffiti gave the whole place a magical touch.

Grafitti footballon a sunny Sunday afternoon.

1. Football field.

1

38

The site was enclosed quite well when we moved in, apart from the east boundary which sat directly onto active factories. To protect ourselves, we built a wall on our boundary, one that was bizarre and interesting rather than intimidating. This wall simply made clear where the administrative border of the Phoenix Zone begun.

The Phoenix Zone was welcome to all and more and more people moved in. The only condition was that they had to be clearly committed to staying and aiding the cause. A simple division was created: those who were unemployed worked on site, those who still were em-ployed in the city donated their income to the Zone. This principle was one of shared effort.

The Phoenix Zone did not operate solely internally. With-in the workshop a boat yard was created, where the Athe-nians who had previous experience with building boats started using the materials to create quality hand made products. Since my grandfather had been a carpenter, I knew how to give some advice. The boats sold to the outer world and the income was put into the shared pot.

Our wallas an open border.

2. Wall next to the boat workshop

2

39

The site was enclosed quite well when we moved in, apart from the east boundary which sat directly onto active factories. To protect ourselves, we built a wall on our boundary, one that was bizarre and interesting rather than intimidating. This wall simply made clear where the administrative border of the Phoenix Zone begun.

The Phoenix Zone was welcome to all and more and more people moved in. The only condition was that they had to be clearly committed to staying and aiding the cause. A simple division was created: those who were unemployed worked on site, those who still were em-ployed in the city donated their income to the Zone. This principle was one of shared effort.

The Phoenix Zone did not operate solely internally. With-in the workshop a boat yard was created, where the Athe-nians who had previous experience with building boats started using the materials to create quality hand made products. Since my grandfather had been a carpenter, I knew how to give some advice. The boats sold to the outer world and the income was put into the shared pot.

Our wallas an open border.

2. Wall next to the boat workshop

2

39

After a while...

1. Waste piling up.

1

40

After a while, our waste started piling up at the back of the buildings, behind the drainage canals. We didn’t re-ally have a solution for it but it wasn’t a really pleasant situation. Furthermore, we were running out of materials since we stripped all the smaller buildings. On top of all that, the space inside the buildings got quite cramped when the population reached 200 people. Something had to happen.

41

After a while, our waste started piling up at the back of the buildings, behind the drainage canals. We didn’t re-ally have a solution for it but it wasn’t a really pleasant situation. Furthermore, we were running out of materials since we stripped all the smaller buildings. On top of all that, the space inside the buildings got quite cramped when the population reached 200 people. Something had to happen.

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Gypsie Town

2018 - 2024

Contribution by Jeno Drakos

1. Recycle centre.

1

When the occupied buildings on the east side got cramped, we had no other option than moving into the southern buildings on the site. not many were enthusi-astic cause it felt like leaving our safe base camp, but Geoffrey, Lieve and I signed up for it cause somebody had to do it. When we moved in, we started feeling the presence of the gypsies much more than before. every day we saw under our eyes people coming in from Ath-ens, bringing in the most fantastic and precious objects. Propellers, gas tanks, engines…. The gypsies all bought it to later sell it on to a melting plant. I started recording this unique scene.

In my head, I was forming a plan. If we could form a deal with the gypsies, all the problems in the base camp could be solved. We lacked materials and they had plenty. Our waste was piling up and smelling and they were happy to take it in. We could propose that we work together and set up a professional recycling centre. With our knowl-edge they could upgrade their position in the recycle chain and be able to make a lot more money.

At first, the gypsies were suspicious, but the temptation of more money made them say yes. Some friends and me started organizing their piles and our waste piles shrank. The gypsies could sell the small particles for so much more money and completely started trusting us. We had kept our promise. They were even willing to give me some interviews.

Finally, we made an entrance at the recycle centre were the Athenians could come in. The centre gained more and more fame in Athens city and the queues to hand over new trash become longer and longer. My plan had worked!

Recycle centresymbol of our deal with the gypsies.

44 45

2. Digging the reed bed.1. Reed bad path.

1

2

Neckarios, the soil engineer of the base camp, regularly checked the breaches that he together with the first oc-cupants had made. After a while, the first small spots of erosion were clearly visible. The breach in the southern corner had, as expected, progressed the most. Suddenly a light bulb went off in our heads. We had to connect the drainage system of the base camp with the biggest breach in the south. In this way, we could get rid of the basecamp’s grey water. Problem solved! Furthermore, if we would turn it into a reed bed, the base camp’s water would get cleaned and could be used to supply water to the new camp we wanted to build. After that, we could clean the water again before it flew back into the canal.

It completely made sense! Eureka! All we had to do was to dig, which in this soil was surely possible. nature would do the rest for us. Thank god we had started phy-toremediation long ago.

Geoffrey and Lieve drew the plan, we set out the poles that would show how we would dig. We thought this through very well cause we knew the reed bed would be so dominant that it would shape our spaces. Neck-arios was in charge of the whole operation and I was his right hand man, carefully recording everything. The digging went quite smoothly apart from a difficult stone here and there. In fact, it was quite fun to do cause we could see ourselves progressing every day, having a sat-isfying beer afterwards. While digging, we piled up the soil behind the southern buildings, a space we didn’t use anyway.

After digging we started to put bridge like footpaths over the reed bed. In the night, the paths were lit with loads of oil lamps, creating a very intimate atmosphere. With the growing of the reed bed, these paths got a nice, unusual look. Their feeling was very informal. One could just sit down and dangle his feet above the reed bed.

Reed bed pathsfor a romantic evening walk.

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3. Group of earthships.

3

When the reed bed was in place, my time had come. Fi-nally, I could project my knowledge, built up while shoot-ing ‘Garbage Warrior’ on the Phoenix Zone. Putting my camera on a tripod, now I was fully in charge. The other Phoenix members were very interested in my ideas and listened carefully to my instructions. Small teams were formed to build more and I walked around correcting drawings and giving instructions. The results were col-ourful and had a certain aesthetic. Tires, windows, mir-rors, cans, bottles all found their way into the buildings walls.

The earth ships were orientated in a circle like structure. While in the base camp everything was shared with everybody, here, smaller groups settled themselves on the plots created by the reed bed meanders. I found my-self in one of those groups. We continued sharing the meals and I had the comfortable feeling these people were my friends and my family at the same time. I could count on them.

Earthshipswhere we live in colour.

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3. Group of earthships.

3

When the reed bed was in place, my time had come. Fi-nally, I could project my knowledge, built up while shoot-ing ‘Garbage Warrior’ on the Phoenix Zone. Putting my camera on a tripod, now I was fully in charge. The other Phoenix members were very interested in my ideas and listened carefully to my instructions. Small teams were formed to build more and I walked around correcting drawings and giving instructions. The results were col-ourful and had a certain aesthetic. Tires, windows, mir-rors, cans, bottles all found their way into the buildings walls.

The earth ships were orientated in a circle like structure. While in the base camp everything was shared with everybody, here, smaller groups settled themselves on the plots created by the reed bed meanders. I found my-self in one of those groups. We continued sharing the meals and I had the comfortable feeling these people were my friends and my family at the same time. I could count on them.

Earthshipswhere we live in colour.

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1. Party square at night.2. Part square during the day.

1

2

To become closer with the gypsies we often invited them for a meal or a drink in the evening. We simply wrapped a fabric around the lightning pole on one of the south-ern buildings and made ourselves a cosy get together place. During those evenings, we found out they were extremely talented in puppet shows. These shows were so funny that I often had tears in my eyes of laughing. Another thing they could entertain us with very well was their music. The rhythms were so catching you couldn’t resist dancing. The material I shot during those nights wasn’t of the highest quality though.

When digging the reed bed, we had preserved a bigger spot in the middle for gatherings close to our existing tent structure. We extended our party spot with three other tents that could house bars, restaurants and could func-tion as instant theatres or music venues. It had some-thing magic with the sound of the reed bed underneath us and a lot of small lamps above us. I knew I would always remember the evenings I spent there.

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PartyMusic, cinema, beers & dancing.

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PartyMusic, cinema, beers & dancing.

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1. Southern buildings with rooftop space.

1

On a warm sunny day, I was working in the recycle centre and sat down for a short five-minute break. While drink-ing my cold ice tea, in my periphery I saw the billboard on one of the southern buildings. From the corner of my eye, I could see a solar panel between the waste piles. An idea was formed in my brain. I grabbed the solar pan-el, walked southwards and mounted it onto the billboard. This was a break through! Why had nobody thought of this earlier? Since the law had prohibited a considerable amount of billboards, all of them were just dotted around the city doing nothing.

We started to encourage our waste suppliers to bring in more billboards and solar panels in return for more money and so they did. On the rooftop, a strange kind of billboard landscape started to come to life. It was nice to sit in the evening with your back against the panels that were heated during the day. From the roof you could oversee sunrise in the east, all of eleonas in the south and sunset in the west. It became one of the favourite places for couples to have a romantic evening.

rooftopswhere we can overlook all of eleonas & watch the sunset in the west.

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1. Southern buildings with rooftop space.

1

On a warm sunny day, I was working in the recycle centre and sat down for a short five-minute break. While drink-ing my cold ice tea, in my periphery I saw the billboard on one of the southern buildings. From the corner of my eye, I could see a solar panel between the waste piles. An idea was formed in my brain. I grabbed the solar pan-el, walked southwards and mounted it onto the billboard. This was a break through! Why had nobody thought of this earlier? Since the law had prohibited a considerable amount of billboards, all of them were just dotted around the city doing nothing.

We started to encourage our waste suppliers to bring in more billboards and solar panels in return for more money and so they did. On the rooftop, a strange kind of billboard landscape started to come to life. It was nice to sit in the evening with your back against the panels that were heated during the day. From the roof you could oversee sunrise in the east, all of eleonas in the south and sunset in the west. It became one of the favourite places for couples to have a romantic evening.


50


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1. The remains of the bloody fight.

1

After a while...

52

After a while, the earth ships started to become big-ger and bigger. each time a new plot was broached, the scale level of the buildings increased. Though, we were still far from reaching Athens’ city density and the structures took up quite a lot of space for the amount of people that could be housed. We had to move on to a bigger scale.

Simultaneously, the food supply started to be inade-quate. With the growing population, the food pyramids in the base camp couldn’t meet increased demands. This is how tensions started to appear and the first real con-flicts emerged. The Base Camp and the Gypsie Town both had their gathering space, but the communication between both didn’t always run smoothly. One Sunday, there was a misunderstanding about the weekly-allocat-ed food. The Base Camp thought our stocks were bigger than they were and already handed out most of the food. That week we stayed quite hungry. Nevertheless, It had become clear we needed an overarching structure that would tie the whole Phoenix Zone together.

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Contribution by Eliassa Kakos

Speakers Town2024 - 2035

1. Square of democracy during a meeting.

1

With the quarrelling accumulating, one night Jeno and I discussed the issue. He asked if I could come up with a solution since I was the one holding a degree in law. I suggested we could think about having a Direct De-mocracy. This system was in use in ancient Athens, but died along with the ancient Greek empire. In this model one hundred people of the city were chosen to share the leadership for one year. Consequently, power wasn’t in hands of one person and abuse of it would be far less likely.

Jeno liked the idea and being one of the important peo-ple in the Gypsie Town, he was able to introduce it to the rest of the Phoenix Zone. During the meeting, the opinions were unanimous and the idea got accepted. But it raised many questions as well: where would these new parliamentary gatherings take place. The gathering plac-es of the Base Camp and the Gypsie Town were both too small, surely because the population kept on growing.

Together with Geoffrey and Lieve we looked upon the map of the Phoenix Zone. The solution would be found in the middle, literally. We decided to place an amphithe-atre like structure in the middle of the site, connecting the Base Camp and the Gypsie Town. We would make it large enough to accommodate population projections of 1500. Furthermore, a noise wall would back the seats. The idea came from Neckarios and it’s structure was a big scale version of the food pyramids: ten meter high and three meter thick frames that would be filled up with soil from the reed bed diggings and grown over with veg-etation. On the one hand, these noise walls would help grow more food and on the other hand the sound of the meetings on the Square could be directed into specific directions. Furthermore, it would give the Square more dignity and prestige.

The day constructions were finished we baptized the place ‘Square of Democracy’. Whenever there was an issue, it would be taken to the Square immediately. The hundred wise men and women would examine who was right and what solutions could be proposed. The ses-sions were open to the public to be viewed and were often attended in great amounts. The parliament also gave us the chance to properly discuss experiments and judge them on their merits, rather then rejecting them straight away. This attitude created a more tolerant men-tality in general and people started looking beyond their first thoughts. The Square of Democracy had brought peace over the Phoenix Zone.

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Square of Democracywhere debate and discussion are the key elements.

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2. Reed bed path.1. Planting the reed bed.

1

2

After a while, we wanted to extend our city beyond the Square of Democracy and next to the Base Camp. We knew the population would keep growing and more wor-ryingly, we knew we had to search for new typologies since the earth ships had reached the limits in terms of scale. Another thing we knew, was that the first thing to arrange was the reed bed. In this case it was easy, since the concrete grid lines were already connected onto the system. Geoffrey and Lieve just drew some extensions of this existing structure on the map and that was all that was needed.

The reed bed in the carved out concrete lines was such a dominant feature that it had to become the spine of our new neighbourhood. Geoffrey and Lieve provided the plans and we built a main path over it from where smaller side paths would guarantee easy access to the whole neighbourhood. Above the path, we provided a structure similar to the food pyramids. In addition to the noise wall food would be grown here and the insects of the reed bed could be caught. Walking on the path was a pleasure, especially on a hot summer day. The vegeta-tion caused shading, something to be really thankful for at thirty-six degrees Celsius. Furthermore, the watering of the structure made drops coming down. Sometimes, when it was too hot, I just went walking there, feeling the drops coming down on my skin.

Reed bed patha refreshing passage of vegetation where insects are harvested.

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3. Ground level between hybrid earthships.

3

With the extension of the reed bed, our search for larger scale buildings could begin. Over the years, the trees seeds that were planted in the joints of the concrete slabs had turned into mature trees. Their roots had cracked up the concrete and made it now possible for us to build.

I was part of the parliament when we agreed upon the building principles for this new neighbourhood. Geoffrey and Lieve had drawn a proposal which was then dis-cussed on the Square of Democracy. Firstly, all buildings would orientate themselves perpendicular to the reed bed. In this way a convergence with the path was found, maximum use of the space was guaranteed, the sport fields was retained and common spaces in between the buildings were realized. The latter were considered an extrapolation of the successful shared spaces in the gyp-sie town and a new kind of streets.

For the rest, complete freedom was given upon the building types, the facades etcetera. Some successful cladding types of the Gypsie Town found their way into these buildings, new ones were invented. It felt like our patrimonial became richer every day. The height of the buildings lends itself perfectly for experiments such as finding out which wind turbine makes the least noise. When there was an argument about for example the tur-bines noise, it was solved on the Square of Democracy. I was delighted; this was democracy in its purest form. The common spaces turned into a chaotic but pleasant mix of rubble and trees.

Hybrid earthshipsaround the rubble of the

cracked up concrete.

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1. Welcome Square.

1

With the scale of the Phoenix Zone becoming bigger, people in Athens city became more and more aware of its existence. Out of curiosity, some Athenians started to visit us. It was funny. At first their were small bunches of people, standing outside our fence, trying to catch what was going on. They were surprised when we asked them if they wanted to enter. We had a coffee with them and guided them around. Stunned that all of this was possi-ble so close to the city, they returned home with many stories.

We had underestimated the ripple effect of this and soon more and more people came to visit us. Since our philos-ophy included a welcoming attitude some Phoenix mem-bers started to give tours as their full time occupation. I volunteered in this and enjoyed it a lot. My theoretical capabilities were now used for another purpose than the court. In the end, we considered this whole visitor thing as something good. It was good the outer world started to know about us.

To make it all a bit easier, we made a new entrance fol-lowed by our Welcome Square. In this way, we avoided people walking in randomly, ending up all around the site. From now on, visitors were collected on the Wel-come Square, guided around to end with a coffee in the Gypsie Town. It was good our Phoenix Zone received with the Welcome Square a face, a point of recognition.

Welcome Squarewhere we greet the curious.

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1. Welcome Square.

1

With the scale of the Phoenix Zone becoming bigger, people in Athens city became more and more aware of its existence. Out of curiosity, some Athenians started to visit us. It was funny. At first their were small bunches of people, standing outside our fence, trying to catch what was going on. They were surprised when we asked them if they wanted to enter. We had a coffee with them and guided them around. Stunned that all of this was possi-ble so close to the city, they returned home with many stories.

We had underestimated the ripple effect of this and soon more and more people came to visit us. Since our philos-ophy included a welcoming attitude some Phoenix mem-bers started to give tours as their full time occupation. I volunteered in this and enjoyed it a lot. My theoretical capabilities were now used for another purpose than the court. In the end, we considered this whole visitor thing as something good. It was good the outer world started to know about us.

To make it all a bit easier, we made a new entrance fol-lowed by our Welcome Square. In this way, we avoided people walking in randomly, ending up all around the site. From now on, visitors were collected on the Wel-come Square, guided around to end with a coffee in the Gypsie Town. It was good our Phoenix Zone received with the Welcome Square a face, a point of recognition.

Welcome Squarewhere we greet the curious.

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1. Tower Lane.

1

Our buildings needed of course infrastructure. We learned from the water tanks and sewage system in the Base Camp and made these much bigger. Neckarios made some calculations and figured out the only solution was a series of big utility towers.

In the beginning we didn’t really know where to place them, but Jeno came up with a good idea. earlier on, we had opened up the wall to let cranes and trucks in when needed. Their tires had already marked some kind of bigger road and we had connected this onto the exist-ing road structure in the Base Camp. If we would place them along, this road would get a more formal character.

This setting emerged something we hadn’t planned beforehand. One day, the food team had harvested so much that there was enough spare food. So Petros, one of the clever guys in the team, had built a market stall between two towers, selling the food to passing con-struction workers and to visitors being guided around in the Phoenix Zone. It was a smart idea and the income of the Phoenix Zone would be raised by it, so everybody let it happen. Soon, other people started imitating this idea, and a spontaneous market emerged between the utility towers. Moreover, it became really pleasant to walk along Tower Lane with its vibrantly coloured small mar-ket stalls.

Tower Lanea vibrant market place between our utility towers.

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1. Flyer from the first Phoenix Festival.

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After a while...

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After a while, the Welcoming Square had changed something in our thinking. So far the benefits had been one-way traffic: from our side to the Athenians. For near-ly six months now, I had been showing of the Phoenix zone to the outer world. We started wondering how we could use this attention for us, how could we turn it into something great for the Phoenix Zone? At the same time, we received more and more proposals from companies and universities to collaborate with us. They saw in our Phoenix Zone a place where they could experiment in a way that wasn’t possible in the regular city. We decided to take these opportunities and organized the first Phoe-nix Festival.

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Phoenix FestivalContribution by Delia Kostouplos

Together with Elissa and Penelope, I figured out the whole Phoenix festival. We made flyers and went around in Athens city, we used every social network online to spread the word and we approached tons and tons of companies. When the festival finally started, we were prepared to make it amazing.

As we were used to, all guests entered on the Welcome Square. They could choose between the usual guided tours or between living and experiencing the Phoenix Zone for a full week. They would help with our daily tasks and could camp on the free spot next to the river. On the Square of Democracy, lectures were held daily. The speakers were a mix of Phoenix members and people from outside. Afterwards, there was time for questions

and debate. Music, performances and drinks took place in the gathering place of the Base Camp and of the Gyp-sie Town bringing a relax atmosphere to the whole hap-pening.

All around the Phoenix Zone, companies and universi-ties got the chance to build up installations for us and for the visitors to experience. For example, around the food zone there was an experiment showing how to con-vert pig pee into plastic. next to the camping spot, some lightning and tornado turbine experiments where shown off. On the bank of the river, something with algae and wellness was going on. The curiosity of the members themselves as well as the visitors was great. There were loads of ‘oehs’ and ‘aahs’ and I felt like we had done a

2035

Tornado town2035 - 2047

Contribution by Stefan Mikos

1. Solar bill board.

1

After the Phoenix festival, there was a period of long meetings and negotiations. I got involved because of my out-of-the-box views on things in general, because I wasn’t scared of statements. Delia had been dragging me in to this because she wanted to get results out of the whole Phoenix festival she had organized. After the dis-cussions on the Square of Democracy some of the most successful installations of the festival where chosen to develop further. We had several brainstorms about how they could fit in the existing city in the first place.

The first experiment was really easy. The Athenian Tech-nical University wanted to test turbine balloons that. These needed to be up high in the air. We decided to attach them to our third phase buildings to reach the best height. From far, they made the Phoenix Zone look play-ful and made it even visual from within Athens city.

The second experiment came from a company that had actually looked at our Phoenix Zone before making up their installation on the Festival. They were inspired by the solar panels on the southern roofs and wanted to take over this idea on a much bigger scale. They wanted a solar panel / billboard that would be so big you could see it from the Acropolis. At first it was a bit difficult to imagine this in the Phoenix Zone, but finally we agreed we could use it on the Welcome Square. As an adver-tisement we could project the Phoenix logo to Athens city and simultaneously we could build a viewing point within its structure. When you would walk in on the Welcome Square the Phoenix Zone would be a bit hidden in the first place, but take a short elevator ride to the top and a fantastic view would be relieved. That was kind of a spectacular welcoming!

A solar mosaicto broaden our horizon.

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2. Street in Tornado Town.

2

With the Phoenix festival, the attention had increased spectacularly and new-motivated members were queu-ing up. But before we could think about starting up a new neighbourhood, Neckarios and Jeno stressed we should put our focus first in extending the reed bed, just as we had done previously. They proposed to connect the grid-ded grey water lines from the concrete slab to the river. The breaches made so long time ago proved finally their use and it assured the Phoenix members that long-term thinking was very needed.

By making this connection the system was fully com-plete! Neckarios was so happy the day that happened that he invited everybody for beers in the gypsie town. All the neighbourhoods now worked together for their water household. They were dependent on each other, but in a good way. The different communities within the Phoenix Zone would have to take care of their reed bed in order to assure the cycle wouldn’t be disturbed. And so they did.

The street pattern would respect the reed bed and be drawn parallel to it. In that way the river and Tower Lane, two main features, would be easily connected. Again the principle of a common space would be used and free-dom of typology would be granted. Geoffrey and Lieve came up with the idea to arrange these parallel streets in such a way that from Tower Lane they would just seem like regular streets, but if the inhabitants would walk through them, suddenly an intimate common space next to the river would be revealed. It was simple but smart at the same time.

Our streetsintimacy between Tower Lane and the river.

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2. Art centre.1. School.

3. Wellness centre.

1

3

2

Besides of using the high technology collaborations in the existing city we wanted to use them to be the foun-dations of the new neighbourhood. First of all, we got a request from a company to place a small installation with huge benefits. It was an artificial contained-tornado maker, and if you would run it once a year successfully, it would be able to power all the Phoenix Zone. We put it on a gigantesque pedestal to form the main attraction of Tornado Square, the centre point of the new neigh-bourhood. An art centre, a wellness centre and a school would surround the square. We were longing for some kind of higher programme and at the same time people wanted to raise their children according to the Phoenix philosophy. When everything got in to place, the in-habitants started putting up artefacts around it. It was something that had become kind of natural in the Phoe-nix Zone. In front, we agreed on the main principles and afterwards, people would adapt the spaces according to their own needs and wishes, knowing they were allowed to. Adjacent to the Tornado Square, there was one small-er square opening up towards Tower Lane and another one towards the river. Visually, there was a strong con-nection between those three spaces, and visitors came naturally.

The school and the wellness centre both overlooked a more intimate river space. Both were ideally located so close to the water. The purpose of the school was to stimulate children’s senses and to give them freedom to develop themselves. not pre-digested material, but fan-tasy and creativity were the keys of their education. The wellness centre came into the picture after a company had asked us to set up an experiment with algae. It does smell, but it is a great opportunity to test new kind of fuels. So by transforming it into a healthy spa, people cared way less about the smell. It felt part of the setting.

Tornado squarewhere art, wellness and education are united.

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Tornado squarewhere art, wellness and education are united.

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1

2Big

Phoenix Square

To

wer

Lan

e

Pho

enix

Lan

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River Lane

ENTRANCE

Bendy Road

Lightning Street

Big Workshop

Sunday Market

Grafitti Footbal Field

Small Phoenix Square

Small Workshop

Food Place

Rooftop Retreat

Recycle Centre

Market

Art Centre

Wellness

School

1.

2. 3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

The Phoenix

ZoneDew Path Dew Path

Tire Street

Tire Lane

Win

d P

ath

Pyr

amid

Pat

h

Square of

Democracy

GypsieSquare

TornadoSquare

Lightning Lane

River Street

Reed bed Path

Gypsie Path

Food Path

Reed

bed

Pat

h

Tower

Lan

e

5

4

6

3

8

9

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7

Children’s Path

Art

Pat

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Algoe Path

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1. Map of the Phoenix Zone.

1

After the Phoenix Festival and with the installation of the solar billboard on the Welcome Square, the inflow of vis-itors and new Phoenix members grew. To make things easier, I decided to draw a map of the Phoenix Zone. Our Zone certainly wasn’t an occupation anymore; it had started to resemble a small city. Together with Lieve and Geoffrey, I sat around the table to discuss what should be on the map and how it should be drawn. The Phoe-nix inhabitants had already informally named most of the streets and squares and so we simply used the existing names. For a few places, we had to make up a name ourselves. After presenting the map to the parliament, it got printed and was ready for hand out at the entrance.

A mapto find your way around our city.

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1

2Big

Phoenix Square

To

wer

Lan

e

Pho

enix

Lan

e

River Lane

ENTRANCE

Bendy Road

Lightning Street

Big Workshop

Sunday Market

Grafitti Footbal Field

Small Phoenix Square

Small Workshop

Food Place

Rooftop Retreat

Recycle Centre

Market

Art Centre

Wellness

School

1.

2. 3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

The Phoenix

ZoneDew Path Dew Path

Tire Street

Tire Lane

Win

d P

ath

Pyr

amid

Pat

h

Square of

Democracy

GypsieSquare

TornadoSquare

Lightning Lane

River Street

Reed bed Path

Gypsie Path

Food Path

Reed

bed

Pat

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Tower

Lan

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6

3

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7

Children’s Path

Art

Pat

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Algoe Path

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1. historical layers of eleonas.2. new layer of eleonas.

21

One day, I decided to take my friend’s son to Athens city. As his godfather, I cared a lot about him and I thought the time was appropriate to broaden his horizons outside of the Phoenix Zone. We walked all the way to the Acrop-olis. Whilst we were walking I told him fabulous stories about Zeus, Athena, hera and hercules. They made the little boy only more enthusiastic to reach our destination. In the late afternoon, we reached the Parthenon. We looked out over Athens, I was speechless, I had never seen the Phoenix zone from here. I had regularly been around in Athens city, however this was the first time I visited the Acropolis after so many years. It was a sunny day with no clouds and the Phoenix Zone was as a paint splash in the middle of the blank canvas of Eleonas. Between all the grey, there was this wonderful colour-ed place. I could distinctly see the big solar billboard, the red and blue turbine balloons, Tower Lane and the Tornado Square. That night, upon return, I told all my friends. Out of curiosity, many of them made the same journey in the following days. Geoffrey and Lieve came up with the idea to adapt one of our first models, the one with the various layers of Athens. We felt proud when we drew our Phoenix Zone upon the eleonas layer and put the updated model.

A visit to the Acropoliswith unexpected results.

76

1. historical layers of eleonas.2. new layer of eleonas.

21

One day, I decided to take my friend’s son to Athens city. As his godfather, I cared a lot about him and I thought the time was appropriate to broaden his horizons outside of the Phoenix Zone. We walked all the way to the Acrop-olis. Whilst we were walking I told him fabulous stories about Zeus, Athena, hera and hercules. They made the little boy only more enthusiastic to reach our destination. In the late afternoon, we reached the Parthenon. We looked out over Athens, I was speechless, I had never seen the Phoenix zone from here. I had regularly been around in Athens city, however this was the first time I visited the Acropolis after so many years. It was a sunny day with no clouds and the Phoenix Zone was as a paint splash in the middle of the blank canvas of Eleonas. Between all the grey, there was this wonderful colour-ed place. I could distinctly see the big solar billboard, the red and blue turbine balloons, Tower Lane and the Tornado Square. That night, upon return, I told all my friends. Out of curiosity, many of them made the same journey in the following days. Geoffrey and Lieve came up with the idea to adapt one of our first models, the one with the various layers of Athens. We felt proud when we drew our Phoenix Zone upon the eleonas layer and put the updated model.

A visit to the Acropoliswith unexpected results.

76 77

2.Gravestone of Neckarios Argryion.1. River landscape.

1

2

78

2.Gravestone of Neckarios Argryion.1. River landscape.

1

2

78

The space next to the river started to become really wild. Over time, it would become the wild arcadia it used to be. Where we could sit under an olive tree on a Sun-day, catch fish in the stream and have our kids play-ing around. The paths here were way less formal than around the rest of the site and the opposite bank of the river was dotted with forty lightning poles as one of the new big experiments. Forty! When I proposed placing them there, everybody frowned their eyebrows but later on they had to admit that it looked actually really nice. It seemed they were a part of the landscape, as if they should have been there to complete our river space.

Sadly, one night Neckarios died suddenly of an unex-pected viral infection. Since he had put all his heart and soul into the Phoenix Zone, we wanted to burry him here. That is how the river landscape became the last resting place of the Phoenix members.

River sidea place of tranquility.

79

Looking back & Looking forward

In my opinion, the Phoenix Zone should stay an enclave, a colourful entity within the raw post-industrial environ-ment of eleonas. That is the way in which the whole Zone was set up and how it was designed throughout the years. nevertheless, it would be a shame if all our efforts wouldn’t result in something more. The Phoenix Zone should therefore become a catalyst for eleonas. It is very easy to imagine how strings of new developments would start off the gates of the Phoenix Zone and grad-ually connect the Phoenix Zone with Athens city. In this way the Phoenix Zone would regenerate eleonas and become the heartbeat of this rediscovered piece of Ath-ens. A big advantage is that this regeneration would be caused by something built up by Athenians themselves, rather than a big (foreign) programme such as a stadium or a shopping mall. The key question is then what the nature of these new strings would be. hopefully they will be inspired by and set up according to the Phoenix prin-ciples. Though, it isn’t difficult to imagine them turning out to be purely focused on economical development.This should be at all times avoided and a possible way to establish this is to keep the Phoenix Zone as it exists to-day as the catalyst heart. This implies the Phoenix Pact would be extended under the same conditions that are already described within this document.

PeneLoPe ChontoS

Please scan.

82

The Phoenix Zone has been set up out of a certain dis-satisfaction with the existing city of Athens back in 2012. Consequently, the ultimate goal of the Zone should be curing this city. In other words, the ideas of the Phoenix Zone should be injected into Athens city. This should be practiced both at a government level as well as a citizen level. The Phoenix Zone has the capability to prove the government long-term thinking worth it. There is numer-ous possible actions one can think of that the govern-ment could undertake: de-canalizing the river Kifissos, adapting the Planning Codex, changing the democratic system etc. Concerning the citizens, the Phoenix Zone should change their way of thinking. It should become normal to bring our children to school in the shadow of some turbine balloons, we should (re)build polykatoikia’s out of the cities waste, we should transform abandoned houses according to the Phoenix principles etc. If this point would be reached, in essence it doesn’t really mat-ter if the Phoenix Zone continues to exist, as it would have established sub-zones and will have served its pur-pose. The rebirth of the Phoenix would be assured and Athens would have survived a major crises.

neCkarioS arGryion

As I see it, the Phoenix Zone will keep on gaining popu-larity and more and more people will want to become a Phoenix inhabitant. Since the Zone never wanted to re-fuse people it will break its borders. This would of course be noticed by the government, which they will proba-bly allow initially. Adjacent to the Zone is indeed a big empty plot, so on first sight this expansion doesn’t seem too harmful. nevertheless, this would create a domino effect and soon the Phoenix Zone would expand over all empty sites in eleonas. On the one hand, this could mean a renewal of eleonas in a complete natural way of growing, from the bottom up. On the other hand, the scale might get too large and the Phoenix Zone couldn’t just be copied all the way through as different sites have different characteristics. As well, where as like-minded people who were sharing the same values started up the Phoenix Zone, in this scenario all different kinds of people would come together. The chance they all share similar life philosophies is quiet unlikely. Another danger is that this big Phoenix Zone would make Athens city in itself secondary.

Jeno DrakoS

When the Phoenix Zone was set up, the actual site was only one of a couple of possibilities. When the current Zone would reach its limits in terms of population, nego-tiations with the government could be started in order to establish more Phoenix Zones. The argument for them to allow for these new zones would be the fact that the current zone made the city more attractive. Indeed, the Phoenix Zone has inspired not only Athenians but also people around the world who have come for a visit. This has given Athens a positive reputation as innovative city. This would be the reason why the leasing contract of the current zone would be prolonged. Thanks to the element of the different zones, the smaller scale would be main-tained in all of them. Simultaneously, each zone could specialize in a certain topic and the different zones could exchange knowledge. In this way smaller cities would build the common knowledge for a bigger visionary city.

eLiSSa kakoS

In my opinion, the Phoenix Zone and its history has al-ways been a metaphor for a whole range of world cities. Back in 2012, Athens was surely not the only city in deep crises and the challenges it was facing were representa-tive for problems in many cities. In that respect, it makes sense to see the Phoenix Zone as a source of inspiration for other world cities. I don’t think it is completely irration-al to imagine Phoenix Zones forming around the world. Wouldn’t it be amazing that this small enclave could in-fluence cities all around the world?

Stefan mikoS

Through the use of a video we can quickly look back on how the Phoenix Zone was established. Looking back should immedi-ately inspire to look forward. Therefore, we asked our six contributors to give their opin-ion about the Phoenix Zone’s future. The past 35 years have been well documented, so it is time to start speculating and dreaming.

The Phoenix Zone in 2112? I know I am quite alone in my standpoint, but I am quite pessimistic. The Athenian government have seen our success and attention and that is something that frightens them. Right now, they can’t do much because of the Phoenix Pact but as soon as they get the chance, I wouldn’t be surprised if we get evicted from the site. In this way, they want to make sure a precedent can’t be set and that they are in full control. The Phoenix Zone will then go into the history books. That’s why it is important we document our city very well to make sure it can not only inspire this generation, but many generations too come.

DeLia koStouPLoS

83

The Phoenix Zone

... an extraordinary story of Outscape Urbanism

The Phoenix Zone, Athens, Greece

Geoffrey Leahy & Lieve Smout

Place

Subject

MaP

creatorS

concrete

building

wall

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earthl

existing gridlines

OUTSCAPEURBANISM

Urban thinking through the

Phoenix Zone

O100200 m

Merging all layers

Waste

Water

Nature

Planning

Living

Democracy

The creation of the Phoenix Zone has been a challenging endeavour. Many de-signs were considered and debated by numerous people initial urban analysis and outscape urbanism investigations certainly pointed development in the right di-rection. Over the years there was occasionally temptation to give in and accept that in certain circumstances outscape urbanism could not succeed. however due to the will power of different individuals, focus has been kept. From the beginning we held a design principle that in order for a design to be a success there should be a mixture of minimal planning as well as the allowance for natural growth. A great degree of focus was kept on the six underlying factors, as they were at the forefront of the resident’s urban dilemmas. Focus has progressively transferred into new dilemmas in the past 35 years. All of which, have provided design challenges and provided new journeys for both the phoenix residents and ourselves. We strongly believe that the designs current form truly represents ‘outscape urbanism’, unlike previous cases The Phoenix Zone captures many entities and creates a city in it-self. We understand that even though the design is working at its current state that through time it will need to evolve. Therefore, this merged design should not be read as a final master plan, but one of current form with the possibility of transformation.


Design Statement

Base camp decisions and debates held within Big Phoenix Square.

Gypsie town decisions and debates held within Gypsie Square communal space.

Square of Democracy. Capacity 1200 people

Collaboration town and Tower town decisions and debates held within Technology Square.


Democracy Network

Number 4


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Democracy Network

Number 4


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Blueprint for the democracy system of the Phoenix Zone.






Democracy Network

Number 4


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Base camp decisions and debates held within Big Phoenix square :- in the Phoenix Zone dif-ferent speakers squares will provide a space where residents can express their opinions, ideas and views and where once a week a community meeting can be held.

gypsie town decisions and debates held within gypsie square communal space.

square of Democracy. capacity 1200 people :- The square of Democracy will be the definitive speakers square. Here the outcomes of the various community meetings will be discussed as well as issues concerning the whole Phoenix Zone, following the model of Direct Democracy. similarly to many houses of parliament, there will be designated meeting times.

The Phoenix members are convinced that ethical collaborations are needed in order to push development limits. The Phoenix Zone will welcome the companies’ ideas with open arms, but they will be put through rigorous debates in the square of Democracy with both the Phoenix residents and companies present. The companies will not be allowed to simply im-pose large scale interventions as they please, especially ones which are likely to have devas-tating results, but instead they must accept that they are equal in the decision making process and work to develop a better Phoenix Zone.

collaboration town and Tower town decisions and debates held within Technology square.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

99

How the Phoenix Zone has dealt with democracy over the past 35 years.

The Phoenix Zone & Democracy

This section provides a step by step guide to the design process of in-corporating democracy into the Phoenix Zone. it provides a detailed illustration of how the alternative application of democracy has been applied to create the Phoenix zone’s unconventional identity. (extracts from design notes 2012-2047)

Base camp decisions and debates held within Big Phoenix square :- in the Phoenix Zone dif-ferent speakers squares will provide a space where residents can express their opinions, ideas and views and where once a week a community meeting can be held.

gypsie town decisions and debates held within gypsie square communal space.

square of Democracy. capacity 1200 people :- The square of Democracy will be the definitive speakers square. Here the outcomes of the various community meetings will be discussed as well as issues concerning the whole Phoenix Zone, following the model of Direct Democracy. similarly to many houses of parliament, there will be designated meeting times.

The Phoenix members are convinced that ethical collaborations are needed in order to push development limits. The Phoenix Zone will welcome the companies’ ideas with open arms, but they will be put through rigorous debates in the square of Democracy with both the Phoenix residents and companies present. The companies will not be allowed to simply im-pose large scale interventions as they please, especially ones which are likely to have devas-tating results, but instead they must accept that they are equal in the decision making process and work to develop a better Phoenix Zone.

collaboration town and Tower town decisions and debates held within Technology square.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

99

The fundamental objective of christiania was to create a self-governing society whereby individuals hold themselves responsible over the wellbeing of the com-munity. This was achieved through the creation of a series of meetings. At the top there is a ‘common’ meeting which addresses all issues (Thorn et al, 2011). As well as this there are fifteen sub meetings which address issues such as busi-ness, economics, buildings and so on. from this the people of christiania have developed their own set of rules, independent of the Danish government. All of the residents may attend all meetings, thus they choose to be part of decisions if they want to. other key decisions have included the formation of a common purse and the creation of a local currency, the lon (Parker et al, 2007). The main issues that have struck the meetings have included dealing with rocker violence, banning cars, restricting cannabis, banning heroin use, population control, tourism control and an abstract master plan being underpinned. christiania is a very successful social experiment, which has been able to sustain a countercul-tural lifestyle whilst also tackling issues of establishing a structured community and democracy (Thorn et al, 2011).

christiania rules.

- christiania -

97

Kerala is a very unique state in the southwest of india. The state has famously contradicted mainstream models of development to become the guiding light for developing states thus creating ‘The Kerala Model’. following achieving a degree of autonomy from india, Kerala has pursued the ‘Direct Democracy’ rul-ing regime created in Ancient Athens (Parayil, 2000). it has a population as big as california’s and a per capita annual income of less than $300. But its infant mortality rate is very low, its literacy rate among the highest on earth, and its birth rate below America’s and falling faster (Parayil, 2000). Kerala’s residents live nearly as long as Americans or Europeans. Kerala have consistently fought the temptation of rapid development through globalization. This would have involved a rapid generic development being imposed on their three main cities, which like many Asian cities that have been rapidly developed, would have most likely focused around tourism, international transport and abuse of low labour and production costs coming in. The state tested the idea of Direct Democra-cy and has fine-tuned it to fit into the 21st century. This experimentation has allowed it to minimize the rich-poor gap in terms of quality of life rather than through income. This process takes time but constantly seeks the wellbeing of the majority. As a community they have focused internally on each other and on creating a balanced urban-natural landscape. This has slowly led to an in-crease in quality of ‘higher functions’ such as schooling, hospitals and logistics. After being invented by the ancient greeks the regime has been lying dormant in the development archives, however Kerala have successfully reintroduced it to the world and its success should be learned from.

Kerala secretariat Thiruvananthapuram.

- Kerala -

96

The fundamental objective of christiania was to create a self-governing society whereby individuals hold themselves responsible over the wellbeing of the com-munity. This was achieved through the creation of a series of meetings. At the top there is a ‘common’ meeting which addresses all issues (Thorn et al, 2011). As well as this there are fifteen sub meetings which address issues such as busi-ness, economics, buildings and so on. from this the people of christiania have developed their own set of rules, independent of the Danish government. All of the residents may attend all meetings, thus they choose to be part of decisions if they want to. other key decisions have included the formation of a common purse and the creation of a local currency, the lon (Parker et al, 2007). The main issues that have struck the meetings have included dealing with rocker violence, banning cars, restricting cannabis, banning heroin use, population control, tourism control and an abstract master plan being underpinned. christiania is a very successful social experiment, which has been able to sustain a countercul-tural lifestyle whilst also tackling issues of establishing a structured community and democracy (Thorn et al, 2011).

christiania rules.

- christiania -

97

greek philosopher Plato argued that to achieve the ideal city the ‘perfect’ gov-ernment needed to be formed. it is believed that his theories stemmed from the existing political regime in Athens at the time. The model was known as ‘rule by many’ and was enforced only in Athens by the greek general Pericles. All citi-zens had to take part in government, every year five hundred names were drawn from all the citizens who would then have to serve one year as the lawmakers of Athens (london, 2007). furthermore, every citizen had to vote and every citi-zen had a right to be involved in most of the decisions made by the government. This Direct Democracy was used in Athens and other parts of greece for 100 years. The core principal of this scheme was to reduce all social barriers within the city by bringing together five hundred citizens from all forms of work and different levels of class and wealth (london, 2007). combined with the constant rotation every year this meant that the government really was operated by the people and worked for the people. This had an enormous effect on the overall design of the city itself, and possibly gave birth to the idea of urban planning, as different social representatives stood for different sectors of the city. The re-gime was translated into other greek cities. Without this the ancient greeks would not have achieved their quality of lifestyle nor created their vast empire. After 100 years, due to civil war, the regime became obsolete and the majority of governments across the world throughout history turned to more authoritarian ways of ruling (Hartog, 2011).

school of democracy ancient Athens.

- Ancient Athens -

95

Examples of how outscape urbanism cities have dealt with democracy.

Outscape Urbanism & Democracy

Here, case studies that demonstrate elements of outscape urbanism are discussed in relation to democracy. The section extracts the suc-cessful aspects from the examples in which democracy has been used in alternative ways. greek philosopher Plato argued that to achieve the ideal city the ‘perfect’ gov-

ernment needed to be formed. it is believed that his theories stemmed from the existing political regime in Athens at the time. The model was known as ‘rule by many’ and was enforced only in Athens by the greek general Pericles. All citi-zens had to take part in government, every year five hundred names were drawn from all the citizens who would then have to serve one year as the lawmakers of Athens (london, 2007). furthermore, every citizen had to vote and every citi-zen had a right to be involved in most of the decisions made by the government. This Direct Democracy was used in Athens and other parts of greece for 100 years. The core principal of this scheme was to reduce all social barriers within the city by bringing together five hundred citizens from all forms of work and different levels of class and wealth (london, 2007). combined with the constant rotation every year this meant that the government really was operated by the people and worked for the people. This had an enormous effect on the overall design of the city itself, and possibly gave birth to the idea of urban planning, as different social representatives stood for different sectors of the city. The re-gime was translated into other greek cities. Without this the ancient greeks would not have achieved their quality of lifestyle nor created their vast empire. After 100 years, due to civil war, the regime became obsolete and the majority of governments across the world throughout history turned to more authoritarian ways of ruling (Hartog, 2011).

school of democracy ancient Athens.

- Ancient Athens -

95

A ‘hidden’ process has for years been known by the public but has not, un-til now, been openly attacked and criticised. it is known as fakelaki. Money is stuffed into an envelope and slipped to officials to help gain access to medi-cal services, to avoid taxes, for building permits or driver’s licenses. for years, greeks have complained about this system. A survey of greek residents found that 20% had paid a bribe in the past 12 months, in comparison to 2% in the u.s. numerous scandals have occurred due to the exposure of bribes throughout the years (Thomopoulos, 2011). in 2011, the finance minister named 6,000 firms that owed 59 billion dollars (Thomopoulos, 2011). fakelaki has been a signifi-cant contributing factor to the current greek financial crisis. it has been found that over one billion euros is not accounted for and therefore tax being lost. fakelaki is perceived by many as a crime, yet many see it as a way of greek life. fakelaki cripples the greek system, but people seem ignorant to its damaging effects. combined with a similar scam called “rousfeti”, which is used for polit-ical favours, they corrupt the state and fuel the crisis. The combination of both systems is apparent at higher levels of governmental practices, where literally millions of euros are transferred at any given time, continuously cheating for a profit whilst the state suffers. in order to create an ordered/successful regime then processes such as these need to be ironed out and a no tolerance policy must be established.

fakelaki.

- Bribing -

92

greece is the main door to Europe for refugees and economic migrants. it is estimated that 1.1 million migrants live in greece, who make up roughly 10% of the country’s population (Malkoutzis, 2012). unfortunately for both immigrants and greeks the immigration policies in place are both disjointed and incom-plete, allowing migrants to slip through gaps and settle in traumatic conditions in overcrowded neighbourhoods. furthermore when they arrive in these neigh-bourhoods they take jobs that could be available for locals as they are willing to work for less. A lot of anger and distress has been directed towards immigrants from a lot of people, including far right parties, blaming the migrants for the situation. However the blame should swing towards the government. greece is well known for having one of the worst immigration policies in Europe (Malk-outzis, 2012). its capacity for hosting and processing undocumented migrants is awful, leading to poor treatment in inhumane conditions at reception centres or exposure to criminal gangs in inner cities. The answer by the policy decision makers is to install more reception centres to remove 30,000 migrants a year from Athens (roughly half of the annual immigration), but this will not change the fundamentals of the situation (Malkoutzis, 2012). Asylum seekers will go on to be treated as criminals. currently there is only one way an asylum seeker can gain acceptance to greece in Athens: a station in Eleonas where asylum seekers queue/live in the streets waiting for feedback. some of them have been waiting like this for four years. is it correct for people to be treated in such ways, to have backs turned on them at every corner, to be thrown in the gutter just because they are from a different country?

Assylum seekers protesting in Athens.

- citizenship -

93

Extract of the ‘urban research serie on the city of Athens’ published in 2012.

Athens 2012 & Democracy

This section reflects on the democratic situation that existed in 2012 as a way of providing a baseline measurement for progress made to the current day. it provides an analysis of the various aspects of democra-cy, the problems associated with it and its relationship with the pre-viously existing site.

Dysfunctional, parochial governance has often, in greek history, created atro-cious circumstances for citizens and unforeseeable futures. The economic re-cession in the late 2000s unveiled hidden truths to the greek population of how the government had been using money and ultimately why so many people lost their jobs and effectively their ‘life’. At the heart of the problem is not really money but instead a lacking of a genuine democratic system. for years the po-litical, religious and social policies have been of self-glorification, and if one is not to comply then heavy penalties are imposed. The recession pushed people to their limits, some further, the reaction: riots. february 12th 2012 was the day when Athens experienced its biggest outburst of violence and frustration, fol-lowing an austerity and bankruptcy scenario being proposed by the government (Matia, 2012). The scorched buildings in the streets of the capital reflect the people’s burnt hopes and trust. furthermore the systems failures have strangled the youth, they have been pushed over the threshold, and there is no free flow of new perspectives or inputs. The people continuously try to express what they want and what they need but their voices seem to be ignored. Democracy may have been born in greece but it seems also to have died here. for some people enough is enough and different initiatives are being kick started by citizens with innovative ideas. ioannis Kapodistrias, in 1827, was elected the first head of state of an independent greece. He used the Phoenix Bird as a symbol of his new provisional government (Matia, 2012). The word is spreading across Athens that the Phoenix might return to pull greece out of this situation, but in what form?

2012 february riots in Athens.

- governing -

91

Democracy

An urban analysis .

This chapter aims to provide an informative overview of the ways in which the project has analysed, utilised, adopted and applied democ-racy in such a way that maximises and exploits it to its full potential in order to improve urban society.

sAronic gulf

O2000 m

Places of riots

Detention centre

Political axis

Athens 2012; democracy.

Typology 1: Repair and occupy existing buildings. Streets used as outdoor common spaces.

Big phoenix Square: Install a large common shel-tered kitchen. Form a gathering space in shade of southern buildings. Utilise exisiting truck de-pot by installing market stalls onto each door.

Small Phoenix Square: Create second commu-nal kitchen inbetween existing buildings. Create a second communal space with new shade.

Typology 2: Create earthships from scrap ma-terial, grouped around a central shared space. Each plot surrounded by reedbed meanders.

Install 3 tents and cinema screen, all facing onto central platform, surrounded by reedbed.

Install big road so all neighbourhoods have com-mon spine Fire escape route + construction site route.

Typology 3: Increase density of blocks: vertical-ly. Positioned around a shared space. Buildings must be perpendicular to the reed bed. A cen-tral covered street connects the buildings

Install Noise wall to spread sounds around the site in specific directions. Use existing rubble.

Big market: Parasite onto utility towers, facing onto Tower Lane.

Typology 4: Buildings should be parallel to reed bed, connecting the river to Tower Lane. Create a communal space at the end of each street.

Tornado square: Position four buildings around central tornado column. Reedbed forms building boundaries. Higher functions positioned here.


Social Network

Number 20


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Blueprint for the social network of the Phoenix Zone.

Typology 1: Repair and occupy existing buildings. Streets used as outdoor common spaces.

Big phoenix Square: Install a large common shel-tered kitchen. Form a gathering space in shade of southern buildings. Utilise exisiting truck de-pot by installing market stalls onto each door.

Small Phoenix Square: Create second commu-nal kitchen inbetween existing buildings. Create a second communal space with new shade.

Typology 2: Create earthships from scrap ma-terial, grouped around a central shared space. Each plot surrounded by reedbed meanders.

Install 3 tents and cinema screen, all facing onto central platform, surrounded by reedbed.

Install big road so all neighbourhoods have com-mon spine Fire escape route + construction site route.

Typology 3: Increase density of blocks: vertical-ly. Positioned around a shared space. Buildings must be perpendicular to the reed bed. A cen-tral covered street connects the buildings

Install Noise wall to spread sounds around the site in specific directions. Use existing rubble.

Big market: Parasite onto utility towers, facing onto Tower Lane.

Typology 4: Buildings should be parallel to reed bed, connecting the river to Tower Lane. Create a communal space at the end of each street.

Tornado square: Position four buildings around central tornado column. Reedbed forms building boundaries. Higher functions positioned here.


Social Network

Number 20


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25 m

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O100200 m

This section provides a step by step guide to the design process of in-corporating communal living into the Phoenix Zone. it provides a de-tailed illustration of how the alternative application of living has been applied to create the Phoenix zone’s unconventional identity. (extracts from design notes 2012-2047)

How the Phoenix Zone has dealt with living over the past 35 years.

The Phoenix Zone & Living

initial occupation will involve settling within existing buildings with tents and makeshift structures. The existing buildings should protect residents from the majority of the elements, however repairing the buildings will be of upmost importance. This will allow for internal spaces to be established and ultimately the population to grow.

outdoor common spaces will be created including: common kitchens; covered by a tent structure, mainly using simple cooking techniques such as solar cookers. common living/meeting places will be installed for relaxation and congregation. shade structures will be installed for these spaces so that they can be used at all times of the day. All the systems that are installed in this phase will contribute to the repair of buildings, kitchen operation and construction of spaces.

The earthships will be contained by the surrounding reed bed and be orientated around a central shared space. This space will be primarily used and maintained by the residents of these earthships. This will form a more ‘private’ enclosed space for a smaller number of resi-dents. The surrounding residents of that space will decide what the space is used for.

larger communal spaces will be created around a central platform again contained by the reedbed. These spaces will be tent like structures and house social functions such as bars, cinema, and restaurants e.t.c.

install big road so all neighbourhoods have common spine fire escape route + construction site route.

Typology 3: increase density of blocks: vertically. in this phase the spaces will be located di-rectly on the surrounding paths. The paths will be positioned in such a way to direct the main flow of traffic away from the spaces in order to keep them ‘personal’ to the two buildings, which share them. The increase in verticality will permit the creation of terraces on the build-ings, all in varying heights. Again these terraces will be open to all and there the residents of that building will decide use.

install noise wall to spread sounds around the site in specific directions. use existing rubble.

The market will allow for residents of the phoenix zone to sell there products both internally and externally as at this time people from surrounding Athens have started to become more aware of the zone.

Typology 4: The reed bed this time will flow through the space, hopefully encouraging inter-action and intervention. The buildings will retain height and terraces from the previous stage. The fundamental difference will be that all the buildings, leading onto the river landscape and Tower lane, will share the ground space.

The final square will be used for the location of higher functions such as a school, art centre and a wellness centre. These functions will increase the cultural identity of the site as well as increasing the self-actualisation of the residents.

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christiania was created in 1972 and has endured many periods of struggle. However following these periods it has managed to become a small state within a state, governed by its own laws, where people were free to express themselves any way they like. one of the fundamental rules that were established in the cre-ation of christiania was rejecting the idea of landownership. rejecting private ownership and market capitalization of properties, in order to favour collective rights, fuelled this initial desire (Parker et al, 2007). This initial ‘anything goes’ approach proved slow and uncontrollable, which lead to the creation of an in-ternal government creating a united front to the larger city. This approach did not seek to control development entirely but instead bridge the gap between the individuals freedom to mark his/her living conditions and communal urban planning, which was underpinned by minimum standards and abstract master plans (Parker et al, 2007). This approach provided a different kind of city space where new ideas could be tested and explored but also ordered. The society be-came stronger and formed a cooperative like approach to development (Thorn et al, 2011). furthermore the society remained open to all, until eventually desirability grew so large that the population had to be controlled in order to prevent gentrification. The community as well as many others forge decisions such as this, which will direct the future of the state. The individuals of the com-munity created many functions: theatres, bars, clubs, welcome centre, markets, and workshops. These strengthened the community but also increased popular-ity from outside, increasing revenue, most noticeably the bike workshop. This freedom of creativity and expression has been fundamental to the success of christiania, communities which have embarked on a similar approach may not have been as successful due to the lack of a minimal underpinning of communal development plans.

christiania aerial.

- christiania -

8283

Examples of how outscape urbanism cities have dealt with living.

Outscape Urbanism & Living

Here, case studies that demonstrate elements of outscape urbanism are discussed in relation to living. The section extracts the successful aspects from the examples in which living has been used in alternative ways. ufA fabrik has stepped outside the standardised way of living and embarked

upon a more “all for one” approach. it has a established a cooperative experi-ment in living and working, which includes: an integrated and comprehensive local approach to sustainable development, a participatory grass-roots devel-opment process, communications and initiatives with emphasis on culture to reach both local, regional and international audiences. This has been successful through a strong local integration of development with a primary focus on cul-ture (surBAn, 2004). The population is low at 180, but the success is largely due to the willingness of this small population and the collective agreement on how to proceed. The programs and focus of ufA change from year to year, con-tinuously developing new creative plans. successful programs include: a chil-dren’s circus school which is dedicated to commitment of development of young talent, an extensive workshop program which allows people of all practices to be active within the community and a educational farm which brings togeth-er children and adults to look after the communities animals whilst working the farm (la fond, 1999). ufA has successfully interweaved mundane urban tasks with cultural celebrations to create a society that is driven to learn, teach, express and communicate whilst almost subconsciously strengthen the urban form of the community.

ufa fabrik aerial.

- ufA fabrik -

81

Due to the polykatoikias stubborn and dominant presence in Athens there is no diversity in how people live together. The polykatoikia forces a private way of liv-ing and continues to vertically segregate residents by richer people living in the upper floors (Milanovic,2007). following the crisis, many of the buildings have become empty or partially empty, creating very undesirable living conditions for many. Due to the segregation and a lack of communal connection, residents have become involuntary prisoners in their own homes (Milanovic,2007). As less people are able to afford to live in these private city homes, the more land-owners rent out their apartments to companies for storage and manufacturing. This process only broadens the ‘gap’ between residences within a polykatoikia; as a result fear starts to spread within and across the city.

Downtown Athens.

- singular way of living -

7879


Athens 2012 & Living

This section reflects on the living situation that existed in 2012 as a way of providing a baseline measurement for progress made to the cur-rent day. it provides an analysis of the various aspects of living, the problems associated with it and its relationship with the previously existing site.

A polykatoikia is constructed using a concrete framework of repetitive slabs, which incorporate a staircase and elevator, the greek version of le corbusier’s domino system. A typical polykatoikia measures 12 metres by 15, whilst a block is 42 metres by 75 (Philippopoulos, 2007). it is the most common type of build-ing in Athens. This is due to a mass construction process following WW2, which boomed during the 1960’s and 70’s (Angelidakis,2011). The authorities through ‘Antiparochi’ promoted the process. Antiparochi is a privately owned system; it brings together a landowner and a building contractor who jointly divide the built property, produced by the latter, on the owners parcel (smith, 2004). Due to legal loopholes, construction could take place without a permit if the struc-tural frame of the building was completed in two levels (Angelidakis,2011). The combination of these factors led to a rapid development in polykatoikias, that is still seen today, some being finished and some not. This has lead to a city that is almost entirely ‘private’. in Athens there are almost no public spaces, there is no pause between the polykatoikia and the city. furthermore, the actual ownership of these ‘private’ parcels has become unknown due to inheritance laws (smith, 2004). This has resulted in people owning micro-parcels of land and the possi-bility for future development being lost.

Polykatoikia.

- The Polykatokia framework -

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Living

An urban analysis .

This chapter aims to provide an informative overview of the ways in which the project has analysed, utilised, adopted and applied living in such a way that maximises and exploits it to its full potential in order to improve urban society.

sAronic gulf

O2000 m

Athens sprawl

Athens 2012; living.

Utility towers for rainwater harvesting and sewage collection.

Noise wall, directing sound in specific directions,able to lower noise by 30 dB.

Turbine balloons, 50 metres into the sky. 100,000 kWh/year. Enough to power 10 families of 4.

Solar panel / billl board / visible from the Acrop-olis. 500,000 kWh/year. Enough to power 50 families of four.

Artificial tornado maker, 4 GWh/year. Enough to power the Phoenix zone, with 0.25GWh/year left over.

Lightning, catching 1, 000 GWh/year. Enough to power 1/4 of Athens.


Big Infrastructure Network

Number 11


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Blueprint for the infrastructure system of the Phoenix Zone.









Number 11


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concrete

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The Phoenix Zone & Planning

How the Phoenix Zone has dealt with planning over the past 35 years.

This section provides a step by step guide to the design process of in-corporating inromal planning into the Phoenix Zone. It provides a detailed illustration of how the alternative application of planning has been applied to create the Phoenix zone’s unconventional identity. (extracts from design notes 2012-2047)




Solar panel / billl board / visible from the Acropolis. 500,000 kWh/year. Enough to power 50 families of four.



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At the end of the 1980s, West Berlin was not officially part of the German Feder-al Republic. One perk of this ‘special status’ was West Berliners’ exemption from military conscription (Kil, 2010). Consequently, West Berlin would become a place of escape for thousands of left-wing minded young men, forming an un-paralleled alternative scene driven by Techno. With the fall of the wall in 1989, the longing for escape of these young men leads them to East Berlin. Completely isolated for 28 years, East Berlin consisted of bombed ruins and ghost towns (Kil, 2010). It was literally an empty shell with no laws and no control whatsoev-er. Conquered by the free minds from the West, the Techno scene injected itself in this labyrinth of empty basements and abandoned warehouses (Emms, 2010). Techno put the emphasis on unification and equality. It wanted to make West and East dance together. There was very little organization from the young men who were driving this movement. Buildings were squatted during the evening, parties and publicity organized overnight and everything would be gone the day after (Emms, 2010). These young men experimented with the borders of what was possible. The urban conditions of isolation, lawlessness and decay of East Berlin triggered their imagination. Some sparks were translated into outbursts of energy that nobody could foresee, let alone could plan. Nowadays, Berlin is known for its underground and raves and has built up a worldwide reputation (Kil, 2010). If the wall hadn’t created such specific conditions in East Berlin, all of this most likely would never had happened. This proves that the removal of constraints can lead into something unexpected where the whole city in the end can profit.

East Berlin underground.

- East berlin -

6869

At the end of the 1980s, West Berlin was not officially part of the German Feder-al Republic. One perk of this ‘special status’ was West Berliners’ exemption from military conscription (Kil, 2010). Consequently, West Berlin would become a place of escape for thousands of left-wing minded young men, forming an un-paralleled alternative scene driven by Techno. With the fall of the wall in 1989, the longing for escape of these young men leads them to East Berlin. Completely isolated for 28 years, East Berlin consisted of bombed ruins and ghost towns (Kil, 2010). It was literally an empty shell with no laws and no control whatsoev-er. Conquered by the free minds from the West, the Techno scene injected itself in this labyrinth of empty basements and abandoned warehouses (Emms, 2010). Techno put the emphasis on unification and equality. It wanted to make West and East dance together. There was very little organization from the young men who were driving this movement. Buildings were squatted during the evening, parties and publicity organized overnight and everything would be gone the day after (Emms, 2010). These young men experimented with the borders of what was possible. The urban conditions of isolation, lawlessness and decay of East Berlin triggered their imagination. Some sparks were translated into outbursts of energy that nobody could foresee, let alone could plan. Nowadays, Berlin is known for its underground and raves and has built up a worldwide reputation (Kil, 2010). If the wall hadn’t created such specific conditions in East Berlin, all of this most likely would never had happened. This proves that the removal of constraints can lead into something unexpected where the whole city in the end can profit.

East Berlin underground.

- East berlin -

68

Throughout the United States (U.S.) numerous examples can be found of people who live on a very small amount of square meters. These people come from various layers of society, with two fundamental reasons why these people decide to go live in such a tiny house. On the one hand, they are forced through budget. They simply can’t afford to buy a house so they find their own solution to still have a qualitative life instead of ending up in the streets. On the other hand, people also consciously opt for this lifestyle. They are happy to only possess what they really need and to get rid of all the rest. They see this lifestyle as a relief and enjoy their freedom to not be bound to a life long mortgage. People living in tiny houses (have to) reject the Housing Law. In the U.S. a house has to include at least one room of 120 square feet, more or less 12 square meters. Most of the tiny houses are even smaller than this and are consequently not permitted by law. Solution: the installation of four wheels underneath the house makes it officially a ‘travel trailer’ instead of a house (Nellemann, 2010). A lot of people living in tiny houses complain that they don’t understand why the law prescribes how they have to live. If people want to live this way, why does a hous-ing inspector have to come by to tell them they can’t? Does the government just want to keep the development companies happy who want to sell houses with surfaces people actually don’t really need? Some people’s ideal doesn’t find itself in the classical American dream of a 4000 square feet house, but in innovative solutions (Dirksen, 2012).

Radical tiny house.

- We The Tiny House People -

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Started in 1970 as an idealistic community in search for new cultural and ecolog-ical urban values, the UFA Fabrik operated for a long time without any collab-oration with the outer world (La Fond, 1999). Consequently, the projects were shaped by a reliance on self-initiative and use of personal resources. Projects had to emerge from the existing structures and stayed relatively small. In the 1990s the UFA Fabrik felt the time was appropriate to become less isolated and started up partnerships with various governmental institutes (SURBAN, 2004). The UFA Fabrik transformed itself into a system of non-profit and for-profit organizations where each UFA member could find his or her particular area of specialization. One of the most successful partnerships is run with the Technical University of Berlin. Within this collaboration research has been carried out on the urban adaptation and integration of wetlands, wind turbines and roof vege-tation. Over the last years the UFA Fabrik has set up the urban think tank id22 with support from and collaborations on the European level (La Fond, 1999). Aim is to analyse and communicate the experience within the UFA Fabrik and to generate new urban ideas. Moreover, the organization invests in educational programmes and seminars for students from all over the world. Whereas the UFA Fabrik in its early years was threatened by the outer world with suspicion and disapproval, the Fabrik managed to transform itself into an asset. With the creation of a large numbers of jobs, while generating its own energy, it pro-vides Berlin with the publicity as an ‘ideal testing ground for urban ecology’ (La Fond, 1999).

Residential units UFA Fabrik.

- UFA Fabrik -

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Examples of how Outscape Urbanism Cities have dealt with planning.

Outscape Urbanism & Planning

Here, case studies that demonstrate elements of outscape urbanism are discussed in relation to planning. The section extracts the suc-cessful aspects from the examples in which planning has been used in alternative ways. The Eartships built by the Biotecture movement are developped through trial

and error, operating at the cutting edge of what the law permits. Seeking for ways to develop self-sustainable houses the creators of Biotecture provide little in the way of services, simply because they don’t need any. When the movement started in 1972 it was simply an experiment in Tao, New Mexico, to experi-ment with building earthships (Hodge, 2007). Once a community was estab-lished the government did everything to contain its existence. The licence of the main architect, Mike Reynolds, was revoked on the local and national levels on the grounds of building homes that are not fit for living in. According to the law, homes must be provided with infrastructure taking care of power, sew-age and water. Moreover, the whole site was declared illegal and construction works were shut down. In response to this, Reynolds started a quest to pass a bill in front of the New Mexican Senate. The aim was to obtain the admission to create areas of land where experimental buildings can be developed, where the building regulations are relaxed in the aim of developing sustainable hous-ing. This of course encourages the development of houses to be built off the grid, houses that don’t require input from infrastructure companies. This would spark the debate whether we need infrastructure or if the infrastructure needs us. Backed by the big business, the bill was eventually rejected on grounds of wording (Hodge, 2007). This case shows that New Mexico clearly wasn’t ready to broaden its definition of what housing could be.

Earthship.

- Earthship Biotecture -

65

A burst of growth in the late 1950s and 1960s combined with a multitude of factors led to a vast destruction of neoclassical Athens and the construction of polykatoikias (Taylor et al, 2007). The Athenian society developed its own methods of solving the housing shortage, through Antiparochi. Antiparochi implies a plot of undeveloped land is exchanged for apartment(s) built by small-scale contractors (Taylor et al, 2007). This was the states way to pass the housing problem into private hands. The success of the system created a boom in the construction industry. In the short term this approach was successful, but the cost of this rapid development has had a significant impact on the city through overcrowding, unplanned development and lack of green spaces. By the 1980s city centre living conditions had deteriorated so much that people started to move outwards and again the sprawl was reignited leaving empty lots within the city (Smith, 2004). Meanwhile a process known as Afthaireta started to form, literally meaning ‘part exchange’ or ‘illegal buildings’ (Taylor et al, 2007). Dur-ing the 1950s there was a huge influx in immigration from surrounding rural areas as well as Asia-minor. The immigrants worsened the housing shortages, but in contrast provided cheap labour and contribute to a proliferation of An-tiparochi but also ignited Afthaireta (Smith, 2004). The migrants as well as the homeless built what they could and awaited retrospective legalization. Many of the lots were built overnight to avoid demolition, as once built a lengthy court case would have to occur in order to remove them. The migrants identified a loophole and exploited it. The city was/is in a continuous state of flux as the combination of both systems operated/operate simultaneously.

Antiparochi.

- Rapid Development -

6263

Extract of the ‘Urban Research Serie on the city of Athens’ published in 2012.

Athens 2012 & Planning

This section reflects on the planning situation that existed in 2012 as a way of providing a baseline measurement for progress made to the current day. It provides an analysis of the various aspects of planning, the problems associated with it and its relationship with the previous-ly existing site.

The creation of the polykatoikia has led to rapid urban sprawl. Although it is not apparent there are many regulations within the ‘urban carpet’. The cost of infrastructural works for new housing developments is very low, consequent-ly setting no technical restrictions on development (Angelidakis,2011). There was an attempt to regulate development at the lower level through master plans of a local character. This proved unsuccessful due to the intensely fragmented organizational structure, leaving gaps in operations across the city. In order to reconsolidate the city the state produced an abstract legislative frame, which consisted of complex laws and publications of various exceptions. These laws focused primarily on the local architectural stage rather than the urban forma-tion of the city. Some examples of the laws include Law 3741/1929. This law ‘on horizontal ownership’, makes it possible for the individual ownership of a mul-ti-storey building and regulates the property rights of the co-owners (OPEPA, 2006). The law ‘on building heights’ divided the city into nine residential sec-tions (Angelidakis,2011). Maximum and minimum permitted heights for each were determined for each zone, ensuring that multi-storey building remained low-rise. The new regulations seemed to vary across the zones, which has result-ed in urban settlements being considerably different within Athens. In western Athens illegally generated buildings, lacking basic services and amenities were created, whilst in the East the city was developed along the model of the Euro-pean ‘garden cities’. Each co-owner has a right to use the joint property freely, as long as the other co-owners are not prohibited from the property. This reg-ulation has lead to buildings being viewed as an aggregate of floors rather than viewing each floor as a single entity (OPEPA, 2006). This radically altered the focus to maximise profitability of each plot. As a result polykatoikias became commercially orientated and the morphology became even more standardized and commercialised.

Restrictive planning & informal development.

- Regulation -

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Planning

An urban analysis .

This chapter aims to provide an informative overview of the ways in which the project has analysed, utilised, adopted and applied planning in such a way that maximises and exploits it to its full potential in order to improve urban society.

Phytoremediate soil across the site.

Strategically spread tree seeds in order to break up concrete slabs. Crack merges are weakest.

Create pyramids out of scaffolding. 15 metres high. Food production incorporated within.

Utilise existing exposed fertile ground. Adja-cently position polydomes to create food zone.

Install two sewage tanks adjacent to food zone to be used as fertiliser.

Plant trees in shared spaces of earthships for shading.

Install noise wall. Construct out of existing soil, contained by metal grids. Maintain biodiversity.

Create internal sewage tanks within utility towers. To be used as fertiliser for food pro-duction.

Connect all buildings by installing a covered path. Consturcted similiarly to food pyramids for food production. Install Insect catchers.

Re-position grown trees to align down Tower Lane

Overturn soil and maintain river landscape. Re-positin existing trees .


Nature Network

Number 18


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Blueprint for the nature system of the phoenix Zone.

Phytoremediate soil across the site.

Strategically spread tree seeds in order to break up concrete slabs. Crack merges are weakest.

Create pyramids out of scaffolding. 15 metres high. Food production incorporated within.

Utilise existing exposed fertile ground. Adja-cently position polydomes to create food zone.

Install two sewage tanks adjacent to food zone to be used as fertiliser.

Plant trees in shared spaces of earthships for shading.

Install noise wall. Construct out of existing soil, contained by metal grids. Maintain biodiversity.

Create internal sewage tanks within utility towers. To be used as fertiliser for food pro-duction.

Connect all buildings by installing a covered path. Consturcted similiarly to food pyramids for food production. Install Insect catchers.

Re-position grown trees to align down Tower Lane

Overturn soil and maintain river landscape. Re-positin existing trees .


Nature Network

Number 18


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This section provides a step by step guide to the design process of in-corporating nature orientated systems into the phoenix Zone. it pro-vides a detailed illustration of how the alternative application of nature has been applied to create the phoenix zone’s unconventional identity. (extracts from design notes 2012-2047)

Examples of how outscape urbanism cities have dealt with water. How the phoenix Zone has dealt with nature over the past 35 years.

The Phoenix Zone & Nature

phytoremediate soil across the site :- instead of unearthing the topsoil and chemical washing the soils, which would be labour intensive, costly and against the phoenix ways, phytoreme-diation will be used. The process uses mushrooms, which filter the polluted soil, removing all toxins; once the soil is clean the mushrooms die. The mushrooms will be spread across all apparent soil on the site and will then be left for approximately six months to purify the soil.

Strategically spread tree seeds in order to break up concrete slabs. crack merges are weakest :- This will bring nature into closer proximity of the all neighbourhoods but also gradually erode the residual remains of the industrial past. The trees will vary in type. food producing trees such as olive trees will be planted and trees that provide ideal climates for the local bio-diversity. consequently, the number of microclimates across the site will be increased.

create pyramids out of scaffolding. 15 metres high. food production incorporated within :- situate close to communal kitchens to maximise efficiency.

utilise existing exposed fertile ground. Adjacently position polydomes to create food zone.

install two sewage tanks adjacent to food zone to be used as fertiliser.

plant trees in shared spaces of earthships for shading.

install noise wall. construct out of existing soil, contained by metal grids. maintain biodi-versity.

create internal sewage tanks within utility towers. To be used as fertiliser for food produc-tion.

connect all buildings by installing a covered path. consturcted similiarly to food pyramids for food production. install insect catchers :- insect bags are then hung and dried out until ready for consumption when they will be brought to the kitchens.

Re-position grown trees to align down Tower lane

overturn soil and maintain river landscape. Re-positin existing trees .

A reed bed system will be installed. Reed beds are able to naturally filter and purify waste-water. This reed bed will be a unified system across all the neighbourhoods. The wastewater from one neighbourhood will be the fresh water for the next. for this to occur, then only the grey water will pass through the reed beds and not the toilet water, this will also prevent odour. The reed bed system will start by connecting to the river, travel through the different neighbourhoods and then finish by exiting at the lower end of the river. in this way the river water will gradually become cleaner and the surrounding natural landscape will begin to replenish.

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Arcology, a concept created by paolo Soleri, refers to a vision of fusion between architecture and ecology (Hill, 2005). The concept is a three dimensional city-scape, designed as a living organism, which functions harmoniously with the cycles of the earth. The arcology would be a contraction of the urban system, only requiring 2% of the land used by a typical city of a similar population. in order to see the concept realized a site was created in Arizona which is known as an ‘urban laboratory’. The development is slow. Starting in 1970, only 5% of the master plan has been completed. The goal is a mix of planned and spontane-ous processes, with a final population of 5,000 (Hill, 2005). To fund the project many small-scale workshops operate within, selling products to the public. The site initially was rigorously analyzed to address the unique environmental op-portunities. in this way, processes such as solar gain and wind-harvesting can be planned. The community can harvest the energy that falls upon them each day, and then contribute it back to construction. other interventions include greenhouse modules, which are continuously tested, keeping organic gardens in close proximity to the community (cosanti, 2012). The fundamental idea is that all this is done within the surrounding parameters of nature itself. keeping the city compact whilst being this sustainable will achieve arcology. The slow development of the Arizon site gets different kinds of critiques. Arguments vary from saying that this is because of the nature of the design whilst others say it is because the population is quite low with people being reluctant to join the movement. like many prototypes the likelihood of a complete success is unlike-ly, but the point is that movements like this pave the way for further movements by trying to open peoples minds about the way we live.

Arcosanti: an urban labratory.

- Arcology -

52

ufA has managed to find a balance between the working urban life and working nature. Several interventions and programs not only benefit the community but also ensure that the local biodiversity is protected and even enhanced. firstly 4,000 sqm of roof has been transformed into a ‘wild sanctuary’ where native grasses, herbs and shrubs grow freely. The grasses help with air pollution (re-moving approx. two tonnes of dust per year), produce oxygen (1.5sqm produces enough per annum for one person) but also filter rainfall and retain pollutants (SuRBAn, 2004). This simple transformation has a significant impact on the environment whilst also supplying the community with clean air and water. At the bottom of roofs storm water retention ponds have been installed to accom-modate 1.5 cubic meters of water. These ponds are used as an aid in periods of high rainfall whilst also replenishing the groundwater table. This is a prime example of where ufA has managed to create simple manipulations to aid both nature and the urban context. Another key sector is the production of food. The ufA uses an extensive composting system, which involves the use of, com-posting drums, worm boxes and fermentation rooms. This system removes 20% of the waste per annum, approx. 200 cubic meters (SuRBAn, 2004). ufA also experiments with interventions, which combine the social requirements of the community whilst benefiting the surrounding environment. one significant in-tervention is the creation of the “Vertikop” which is a green noise barrier. it was needed to divert the noise of the “party zone”. it is a simple structure built using a steel frame, filled with sand, stones and organic materials, resulting in vege-tation growing on the outside (la fond, 1999). The resulting mass is enough to shield sound whilst also absorbing rain and providing vegetation for many rare insects and birds. The ufA community is a great example of a community that manages to create simple interventions whilst having a substantial impact on both the urban and the natural environment.

Wild rooftops in ufA fabrik.

- ufA fabrik -

53

Arcology, a concept created by paolo Soleri, refers to a vision of fusion between architecture and ecology (Hill, 2005). The concept is a three dimensional city-scape, designed as a living organism, which functions harmoniously with the cycles of the earth. The arcology would be a contraction of the urban system, only requiring 2% of the land used by a typical city of a similar population. in order to see the concept realized a site was created in Arizona which is known as an ‘urban laboratory’. The development is slow. Starting in 1970, only 5% of the master plan has been completed. The goal is a mix of planned and spontane-ous processes, with a final population of 5,000 (Hill, 2005). To fund the project many small-scale workshops operate within, selling products to the public. The site initially was rigorously analyzed to address the unique environmental op-portunities. in this way, processes such as solar gain and wind-harvesting can be planned. The community can harvest the energy that falls upon them each day, and then contribute it back to construction. other interventions include greenhouse modules, which are continuously tested, keeping organic gardens in close proximity to the community (cosanti, 2012). The fundamental idea is that all this is done within the surrounding parameters of nature itself. keeping the city compact whilst being this sustainable will achieve arcology. The slow development of the Arizon site gets different kinds of critiques. Arguments vary from saying that this is because of the nature of the design whilst others say it is because the population is quite low with people being reluctant to join the movement. like many prototypes the likelihood of a complete success is unlike-ly, but the point is that movements like this pave the way for further movements by trying to open peoples minds about the way we live.

Arcosanti: an urban labratory.

- Arcology -

52

Outscape Urbanism & Nature

Examples of how outscape urbanism cities have dealt with nature.

Here, case studies that demonstrate elements of outscape urbanism are discussed in relation to nature. The section extracts the success-ful aspects from the examples in which nature has been used in alter-native ways. following the collapse of the Soviet Bloc in 1989, cuba lost its supply of food

and agricultural supplies (Abitz, 2008). A time of crisis and desperation followed and the Havana residents responded en masse. instead of relying on rations and aid they planted food crops on porches, balconies, backyards and empty city lots. The food production system was decentralized from large mechanized state farms to small-scale urban cultivation systems. The sites were vacant or abandoned plots and the gardens were cultivated on concrete ground. many of the empty lots used to be informal garbage dumps. nowadays they are trans-formed into community spaces, improving aesthetics and health in the area. Back then, three types of gardens were created; private, state-owned research and public (moore, 1999). The latter became the most widespread. The move-ment became so successful that new planning laws were put in place with the highest priority on food production. furthermore the government has created an extensive support system to offer assistance and advice to the 8,000 garden-ers (Abitz, 2008). The gardens continue to steadily increase in size and number, continuously having a visible impact on the food security of the city and im-proving cuban diet. Havana has become the world leader in urban agriculture, with more than 50% of its fresh products coming from within the city (moore, 1999). The scale of what was achieved with will power, use of organic compost and simple irrigation systems is remarkable.

urban agriculture, Havana.

- Havana -

51

Outscape Urbanism & Nature

Examples of how outscape urbanism cities have dealt with nature.

Here, case studies that demonstrate elements of outscape urbanism are discussed in relation to nature. The section extracts the success-ful aspects from the examples in which nature has been used in alter-native ways.

The greek climate is ideal for growing a wide range of vegetables and fruits. consequently, the food industry is the largest sector in greece. Surprisingly, most of the produced food is exported, yet 50 % of the consumed food is im-ported (demiris, 2011). food has become in many ways a luxury when it is ac-tually a necessity, a basic survival need. There are currently thousands of home-less people within Athens, who simply can’t afford to buy food, resulting in soup kitchens feeding some whilst the rest turn to theft. none of the food production occurs within cities. A main reason is the fact that there is simply nowhere to grow food within the cities. To add salt to the wound, the government have lined the streets with orange trees. unfortunately for the hungry who walk past them every day these are bitter orange trees, inedible (demiris, 2011). if the natural landscape was respected then Athens would see an increase in local food production and not see the need to import as much as they do. This would be achieved through utilizing increases in bio-diversity, tactical plantation of crops and trees and ultimately increase in vitamins and minerals in foods as pollution levels decrease. When there is a balance between urban and natural landscapes a promising opportunity is presented: food production.

Athens central food market.

- food production -

49

The climate change predictions for Athens are not very optimistic. Summer months are predicted to become hotter and drier, slowly reducing greenery lev-els. in Athens the latter it is averaged 2.5m² per person, despite the Eu’s recom-mendation of 10m² (Valavanidis et Al , 2011). The heat is predicted to increase to 40 degrees celcius thirty-six times a year, compared to only once a year pres-ently. The heat seriously threatens the health of residents and combined with particle levels there can be harmful results. Besides this particle air pollution, another type of air pollution is threatening Athens: photochemical smog. dur-ing the summer, this creates a toxic cloud over Athens, known as the nefos. This formation takes place as a result of warm air coming in from the sea, which is then contained by the surrounding mountains acting as a bowl. Approximately 10,000 deaths a year are connected to the air pollution levels in Athens and this number will most likely increase. The increasing heat and dryness has lead to the loss of 20,000 hectares of forest, which burned down in 2009, meaning the only natural source of air purification was lost (Valavanidis et Al , 2011) . This disaster could be blamed on the relocation and densification of woodland, meaning if a fire did break out all trees would be lost. furthermore, winter con-ditions will also radically change, with both short term precipitation increasing and temperatures dropping. little can be done to alter geographical conditions but the overall approach should work with the conditions rather than simply taking no regard.

nefos cloud over Athens.

- Air pollution -

48

Extract of the ‘urban Research Serie on the city of Athens’ published in 2012.

Athens 2012 & Nature

This section reflects on the nature situation that existed in 2012 as a way of providing a baseline measurement for progress made to the cur-rent day. it provides an analysis of the various aspects of nature, the problems associated with it and its relationship with the previously existing site.

like many cities, Athens has attempted to control the immediate surrounding natural landscape in order to achieve its ideal. This has been forced due to over-whelming sprawl of the existing typology (milanovic,2007). An overwhelming carpet of polykatoikias flows across Athens, into every nook and cranny, any-thing else has to mould to fit around it. As a result of this, the natural landscape has been almost completely ignored apart from when it is needed to ‘propel’ the city. many alterations in the natural landscape have occurred; loss of the natural floodplain, relocation & densification of woodland, drainage of water table, cre-ation of dams & reservoirs, extreme loss of biodiversity, injection of landfill sites, to name but a few (milanovic,2007). All of these interventions have occurred to fit around the desired urban form, repercussions have been witnessed and are steadily becoming worse. The underlying issue is that Athenians do not ac-knowledge current or predicted problems, like many natural tragedies the threat is only acknowledged after the worst effects are witnessed.

polykatoikia carpet.

- Surrounding natural landscape -

47

STAmATA

Rodopoli

SARonic gulf

gRAmmATiko

O2000 m

forest fire 2009

Smog blanket

Agricultural area

Athens 2012; nature.

Nature

An urban analysis .

This chapter aims to provide an informative overview of the ways in which the project has analysed, utilised, adopted and applied nature in such a way that maximises and exploits it to its full potential in order to improve urban society.

Create workshops. Strip smaller existing buld-ings to refurbish the bigger buildings. Two work-shops as key centres.

Collect sewage in a 5 m diameter fast- com-poster system.

Create a Recycle centre with intense trash sep-arartion. Through separation only 10 % unrecy-cable waste. Upgrading previous recycle centre position from middle man to full recycle centre.

Earthips use 10 % unrecycable waste for their construction and cladding.

Earthship principles are translated into bigger scale buildings.

Collect sewage in utility towers containing a 5 m diameter fast-composting system.


Waste Network

Number 5


Place

Subject

MaP

creatorS

1

2

3

4

5

6

concrete

building

wall

soil

earthl

existing gridlines

1

3

655 5

2

1

4

30

m

2 m

30

m

5 m

3 m

O100200 m

Blueprint for the waste system of the Phoenix Zone.

Create workshops. Strip smaller existing buld-ings to refurbish the bigger buildings. Two work-shops as key centres.


Create a Recycle centre with intense trash sep-arartion. Through separation only 10 % unrecy-cable waste. Upgrading previous recycle centre position from middle man to full recycle centre.

Earthips use 10 % unrecycable waste for their construction and cladding.

Earthship principles are translated into bigger scale buildings.



Waste Network

Number 5


Place

Subject

MaP

creatorS

1

2

3

4

5

6

concrete

building

wall

soil

earthl

existing gridlines

1

3

655 5

2

1

4

30

m

2 m

30

m

5 m

3 m

O100200 m

The Phoenix Zone & Waste

This section provides a step by step guide to the design process of incor-porating waste systems into the Phoenix Zone. it provides a detailed illustration of how the alternative application of waste has been ap-plied to create the Phoenix zone’s unconventional identity. (extracts from design notes 2012-2047)

How the Phoenix Zone has dealt with waste over the past 35 years.

create workshops. strip smaller existing buldings to refurbish the bigger buildings. Two workshops as key centres.

collect sewage in a 5 m diameter fast- composter system.

create a recycle centre with intense trash separartion. Through separation only 10 % unrecy-cable waste :- A proposal will be made offering man power, a redesign of the recycling centre and an operation action plan which would see the scrap yard move up in the recycling chain to become one of the main recycling centres in Athens. An added incentive for the gypsies is the large increase in turnover and productivity in comparison to current conditions; no longer middlemen but businessmen. in return the Phoenix Zone would request access to the stockpiles of recycled goods and recycling of its waste.

earthips use 10 % unrecycable waste for their construction and cladding :- using the stock-piles of intensively recycled materials, the buildings will be designed and built in a complete sustainable fashion becoming almost completely self reliable. many different designs will be experimented with, incorporating a trial and error method. The buildings will be constructed with emphasis upon the surrounding environment: using thermal mass tyres for highly in-sulating walls and glass bottled windows positioned for cooling in the summer and warming in the winter.

earthship principles are translated into bigger scale buildings :- This will be done by using very similar techniques to the building style of the earthships combined with larger items from the recycling stock such as tanks. The tanks and containers will allow a new form of typology to be created which can be constructed quickly whilst still operating under the recycling system. The combination of the tanks and eartships will create larger scale develop-ments, reaching new heights and densities.

collect sewage in utility towers containing a 5 m diameter fast-composting system :- The utility towers are constructed using tankers and crates from the recycling system. They will be connected to as many buildings as possible, providing water, electricity and sewage utilities.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

41

The city of Tijuana is situated on the border of the united states (us), the most trafficked in the world. As a result the city has a high population, as it is the last stop for many mexicans seeking to migrate into the us. consequently, the city receives a considerably high amount of waste from both the us and mexico (cruz, 2006). Tijuana profits from the material that san Diego wastes, recycling and recombining the buildings into fresh scenarios and new opportunities. The debris consists of a multitude of items such as concrete blocks, sheets of corru-gated metal, used garage doors, pallets, tires etc. in order to filter the debris a machine is used to scoop up small piles of waste and pass it along on a conveyor belt, where it is then sorted by a group of workers (cruz, 2006). After this pro-cess, the different materials are used to build Tijuana’s houses. moreover, entire houses are loaded on trucks in san Diego and brought to Tijuana. in order to squeeze them into tight lots the houses are put on one-storey metal frames that leave an empty space at street level to use for shops, car repair, food stands and the like. once a house is created it is protected by the mexican law (cruz, 2006). no demolition can take place, and the government is then obliged to provide plumbing, electricity and roads to serve it. The skillset and systems of the locals has been noticed and larger recycling firms have started to construct recycling centres in Tijuana.

car bonnet sun shelter.

- Tijuana -

39

‘The Zabbaleen’, Arabic for ‘garbage people’, have served as cairo’s informal gar-bage collectors for the past 80 years. Their largest settlement is mokattam vil-lage, known as ‘garbage city’, and has a population of 50,000 (Hass, 2011). The Zabbaleen recycle 80% of the waste that they collect. This is a startling figure in comparison to 25% of most western countries and one that has made their techniques considered the most efficient recycling system in the world (Hass, 2011). The process begins by using donkey-pulled carts and pick-up trucks to transport the garbage from cairo to mokattam. The rubbish is then left out for their pigs to eat all the organic waste from the rubbish. Previously the organic waste had been made into dried cakes to sell as fuel to private homes, howev-er the demand for oil collapsed this system. Following the pigs, the rubbish is sorted into categories such as PT plastic, cans, paper, etc (Hass, 2011). The Zab-baleen have built their own labour-operated machines in order to create new materials as well as prepare the rubbish for selling onto middlemen. A lot of the families have created micro-enterprises that have generated jobs, including the production of handmade crafts, maintenance workshops, trading enterprises and community-based services. All of these facilities provide employment for the large population.

A Zabbaleen garbage truck.

- The Zabbaleen -

38

The city of Tijuana is situated on the border of the united states (us), the most trafficked in the world. As a result the city has a high population, as it is the last stop for many mexicans seeking to migrate into the us. consequently, the city receives a considerably high amount of waste from both the us and mexico (cruz, 2006). Tijuana profits from the material that san Diego wastes, recycling and recombining the buildings into fresh scenarios and new opportunities. The debris consists of a multitude of items such as concrete blocks, sheets of corru-gated metal, used garage doors, pallets, tires etc. in order to filter the debris a machine is used to scoop up small piles of waste and pass it along on a conveyor belt, where it is then sorted by a group of workers (cruz, 2006). After this pro-cess, the different materials are used to build Tijuana’s houses. moreover, entire houses are loaded on trucks in san Diego and brought to Tijuana. in order to squeeze them into tight lots the houses are put on one-storey metal frames that leave an empty space at street level to use for shops, car repair, food stands and the like. once a house is created it is protected by the mexican law (cruz, 2006). no demolition can take place, and the government is then obliged to provide plumbing, electricity and roads to serve it. The skillset and systems of the locals has been noticed and larger recycling firms have started to construct recycling centres in Tijuana.

car bonnet sun shelter.

- Tijuana -

39

Outscape Urbanism & Waste

examples of how outscape urbanism cities have dealt with waste.

Here, case studies that demonstrate elements of outscape urbanism are discussed in relation to waste. The section extracts the successful aspects from the examples in which waste has been used in alternative ways. earthship Biotecture sees other peoples waste as their bricks and mortar. sup-

plying all of the residents needs whilst removing all of the waste has created a sustainable loop. An ever-changing variety of techniques are used to create the earthships. The community has worked as an entity using the trial and error method to create this off grid society. A fundamental design principle is to use the thermal mass created when tightly packing soil into objects such as tires to create highly insulating walls (Hodge, 2007). The rest of the house’s design is inspired by sustainability: from using bottles to create mosaic walls to moulding the roof into a basin shape to capture water (Hodge, 2007). one of the most suc-cessful earthships, ‘The Phoenix’, is described well by reynolds - pioneer of the eartship Biotecture. “There’s nothing coming into this house, no power lines, no gas lines, no sewage lines coming out, no water lines coming in, no energy being used ... We’re sitting on 6,000 gallons of water, growing food, sewage inter-nalized, 70 degrees [or 21 degrees c] year-round ... What these kind of houses are doing is taking every aspect of your life and putting it into your own hands ... A family of four could totally survive here without having to go to the store” (reynolds, 2008).

‘The Phoenix’ earthship.

- earthship Biotecture -

37

in the early hours of the morning, men and boys driving rusty trucks, pushing heavy handcarts, towing wagons behind battered motorcycles commence their sweep of the Athens streets. They are sieving through alleys, dumpsters and bins for items that they can sell on the scrap market, such as tin cans, electronic ap-pliances, bed-springs, oil cans, stoves, cables and radiators. it is estimated that approximately 80,000 Athenians are involved in this informal economy; it is a new means to earn a good wage in a crippled economy (Brekoulakis, 2010). Across the city trolleys and wagons are padlocked to fences, they have become essentials for people’s way of life. usually each trolley has two co-owners who share split the day. After spending the day filling the trolley with appropriate parts a 10km journey is embarked to the nearest weigh station. The weighing stations are found across eleonas. All set amongst junkyards and abandoned factories it has created a secret society of garbage foragers who have generat-ed this ghost economy. Approximately 1.5 million pounds of steel is scrapped annually which makes up 80% of greece’s metal recycling (Brekoulakis, 2010). Furthermore there is a turnover of 1 million euros. These materials would usu-ally end up in landfills, but efforts to awaken ecological conscience of Athenians have failed. This process is the only system that currently uses the potential from waste. yet the process is not welcomed, police arrested 4,000 people in the last two years for illegally trading in scrap metal (Brekoulakis, 2010). it seems that there is no negotiation or thought to direct systems such as this into a more beneficial method. instead a no tolerance approach is taken.

Waste foragers in Athens.

- Waste Foragers -

3435

Athens produces approximately 6,000 tonnes of waste a day (Petropoulos, 2010). greece is lagging behind most european countries; it recycles 10% of rubbish compared to a european average of 53%. Designated landfills are heavi-ly relied upon, but there are also thousands of illegal sites throughout the coun-try. The two official sites in Attica are Fyli (28 km north west of Athens) and liosia (10 km north of Athens). Fyli has only been operating since 2010 and is almost at full capacity, standing at 2.3 million tonnes of waste. There are plans for a further two sites to be created: keratea (50 km south east of Athens) and grammatiko (50 km north of Athens) (Petropoulos, 2007). These plans have angered local communities as they have seen the damaging results of Fyli. Fyli was controversially located on streams and reed beds, this is a similar case for many landfills in greece which have been shut down to avoid eu fines, how-ever keratea & grammatiko are sites of similar biodiversity. grammatiko more disturbionaly is located beside the marathon lake, which is one of the main water supplies for Athens, which could have devastating results (Petropoulos, 2010). in comparison, runoffs from liosia landfill have seeped 100 meters un-derground, infecting the subsoil in neighbouring coastal suburbs and the waters of the saronic gulf (Petropoulos, 2007). researchers have called liosia a toxic time bomb that will exist for at least 60 years. The current plans for Fyli don’t consider any of the implications they might have on the surrounding environ-ment nor the surrounding communities. it has been found that children born within 5km radius of landfills grow up with health problems, The current sys-tem is very unsustainable: the solution is seen as just moving the garbage out of sight without doing something more with it. This system is destined to collapse and a serious change is needed.

liosia landfill site.

- Waste solutions -

33

extract of the ‘urban research serie on the city of Athens’ published in 2012.

Athens 2012 & Waste

This section reflects on the waste situation that existed in 2012 as a way of providing a baseline measurement for progress made to the cur-rent day. it provides an analysis of the various aspects of waste, the problems associated with it and its relationship with the previously existing site.

Waste

An urban analysis .

This chapter aims to provide an informative overview of the ways in which the project has analysed, utilised, adopted and applied waste in such a way that maximises and exploits it to its full potential in order to improve urban society.

grAmmATiko

Fyli

liosiA

kerATeA

sAronic gulF

landfill

O2000 m

Athens 2012; waste.

Waste

An urban analysis .

This chapter aims to provide an informative overview of the ways in which the project has analysed, utilised, adopted and applied waste in such a way that maximises and exploits it to its full potential in order to improve urban society.

Create 50 x 50 cm canalization breach.

Harvest rainwater through 50 cm diameter water tanks installed under roofs with a slope of 2 degrees or higher. Watertanks incorporate internal stone and sand filters.

Harvest rainwater through 50 cm diameter permeable water tanks installed on roof tops in a perpendicular position. Watertanks incorpo-rate internal stone and sand filters.


Install reed bed in pre-existing grid lines 20 cm under soil level.

Carve out reed bed 20 cm under soil level.

Harvest rainwater through 30 m high utility towers containing two 5 m diameter purifica-tion compartments.


Create a cycle by connecting the breaches , the reed bed and the rainwater harvesting to clean grey water and provide edible water.


Water Network

Number 12


Place

Subject

MaP

creatorS

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

concrete

building

wall

soil

earthl

existing gridlines

2

1

8

75

3

4

6

25 m

30

m

50 cm

5 m

5 m

3 m

O100200 m

Blueprint for the water system of the Phoenix Zone.

Create 50 x 50 cm canalization breach.

Harvest rainwater through 50 cm diameter water tanks installed under roofs with a slope of 2 degrees or higher. Watertanks incorporate internal stone and sand filters.

Harvest rainwater through 50 cm diameter permeable water tanks installed on roof tops in a perpendicular position. Watertanks incorpo-rate internal stone and sand filters.


Install reed bed in pre-existing grid lines 20 cm under soil level.

Carve out reed bed 20 cm under soil level.

Harvest rainwater through 30 m high utility towers containing two 5 m diameter purifica-tion compartments.


Create a cycle by connecting the breaches , the reed bed and the rainwater harvesting to clean grey water and provide edible water.


Water Network

Number 12


Place

Subject

MaP

creatorS

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

concrete

building

wall

soil

earthl

existing gridlines

2

1

8

75

3

4

6

25 m

30

m

50 cm

5 m

5 m

3 m

O100200 m

The Phoenix Zone & Water

This section provides a step by step guide to the design process of incor-porating water systems into the Phoenix Zone. it provides a detailed illustration of how the alternative application of water has been ap-plied to create the Phoenix zone’s unconventional identity. (extracts from design notes 2012-2047)

How the Phoenix Zone has dealt with water over the past 35 years.

create 50 x 50 cm canalization breach :- The Phoenix Zone will make use of the side stream of the river Kifissos. The latter is currently canalized, so breaches will be made. A distance of 15-25 metres between the breaches would be a good balance between labour and resulting erosion. Where the river bends in the south, a larger breach is made. This is done as the rate of erosion will be significantly faster here due to the faster flow rates on the outside of the bend. By destroying the canalization around the stream, the phoenix beliefs are expressed but more importantly the natural floodplain can slowly but surely be recovered.

Harvest rainwater through 50 cm diameter water tanks installed under roofs with a slope of 2 degrees or higher. Watertanks incorporate internal stone and sand filters :- The Phoenix Zone could take advantage of the predicted increase in precipitation by intensively harvesting rainwater. This can be done in various ways. on a smaller scale tanks could be placed under the roof edges, so the water could easily flow in. Another smaller scale solution is water nets up in the sky. When moving on to a bigger scale, utility towers working as water towers could be installed. These towers would compact existing water harvesting techniques with water storage techniques and finally sewage collection.

Harvest rainwater through 50 cm diameter permeable water tanks installed on roof tops in a perpendicular position. Watertanks incorporate internal stone and sand filters.

collect sewage in a 5 m diameter fast- composter system :- instead of putting all our energy in removing and cleaning our sewage water, it will be seen as a resource. By collecting the individual sewage water into collecting tanks and the utility towers, the sum of these tanks and towers can be taken up into a larger composter, which increases the composting rate. The outcome of this process can be used in various processes such as fertilizing the ground, lining the reed bed, making the food grow faster and so on.

install reed bed in pre-existing grid lines 20 cm under soil level :- in the Phoenix Zone there is an existing pattern of gridded lines in the middle concrete slab. in first instance, it could be used as the dead ends of a primitive sewage system. later on, it lends itself in an excellent way to be part of a water system since all strokes are connected in a linear way. The alternation between small and wider strokes will create different water patterns.

carve out reed bed 20 cm under soil level :- reed beds can be used to clean the polluted side stream. in this way, existing natural techniques can be used, rather than installing big puri-fying machines. furthermore, the reed bed can increase the flood capacity of the Phoenix Zone. last bot not least, the reed bed will introduce a fertile landscape that was lost, but in time will start resembling antique Eleonas.

Harvest rainwater through 30 m high utility towers containing two 5 m diameter purification compartments.

collect sewage in utility towers containing a 5 m diameter fast-composting system.

create a cycle by connecting the breaches , the reed bed and the rainwater harvesting to clean grey water and provide edible water :- in the Phoenix Zone, the different communities are interconnected by a water system and consequently they are dependent on each other. Each community’s wastewater will be turned into the next neighbourhood’s drinking water. This implies that the different communities have to take care of each other.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

27

The Phoenix Zone & Water

This section provides a step by step guide to the design process of incor-porating water systems into the Phoenix Zone. it provides a detailed illustration of how the alternative application of water has been ap-plied to create the Phoenix zone’s unconventional identity. (extracts from design notes 2012-2047)

How the Phoenix Zone has dealt with water over the past 35 years.

The inhabitants of christiania each have their own water treatment system. in this system rainwater and grey water combined with water from the nearby ca-nal is turned into drinking water. The water around the former city wall, im-mediately adjacent to the site of christiania, is used in an innovative way. The different kinds of water get collected into a tank where phytoremediation of the water takes place (Thorn et al, 2011). in this process, plants use the pollution as nutrition resulting in the water being purified to a drinking quality. The sewage water is stored in tanks under toilets and used as compost. The ‘smell police’ patrol along the site to ensure inhabitants do not ignore their septic tanks and spread their compost, this prevents neighbourly arguments over bad smells.

The canal surrounding christiania.

- christiania -

25

in the tiny houses, the water system is usually quite basic (Dirksen, 2012). The inhabitants use the rainwater to do their laundry, to shower and to flush the toi-let. The resulting grey water gets stocked in a septic tank underneath the house. This tank is emptied from time to time. The houses don’t have their own system to make drinking water, there is also no storing system for the rainwater. The people in the tiny houses are to a great extent dependent on the natural world (Dirksen, 2012).

Tiny house.

- We The Tiny House People -

24

The inhabitants of christiania each have their own water treatment system. in this system rainwater and grey water combined with water from the nearby ca-nal is turned into drinking water. The water around the former city wall, im-mediately adjacent to the site of christiania, is used in an innovative way. The different kinds of water get collected into a tank where phytoremediation of the water takes place (Thorn et al, 2011). in this process, plants use the pollution as nutrition resulting in the water being purified to a drinking quality. The sewage water is stored in tanks under toilets and used as compost. The ‘smell police’ patrol along the site to ensure inhabitants do not ignore their septic tanks and spread their compost, this prevents neighbourly arguments over bad smells.

The canal surrounding christiania.

- christiania -

25

Outscape Urbanism & Water

Here, case studies that demonstrate elements of outscape urbanism are discussed in relation to water. The section extracts the successful aspects from the examples in which water has been used in alternative ways.

Examples of how outscape urbanism cities have dealt with water.

in the ufA fabrik a completely independent water system was established. The main strategy is to harvest the rainwater and re-use the grey water (fond, 1999). The system can collect 4000 cubic meters of water per year, 1000 cubic meters more than is essentially needed for the 30 residents and 160 co-workers on the site. Through sewers the rainwater and the grey water is led into the water tank of the former film companies (surBAn, 2004). The technical equipment of this big left over infrastructure was removed and the walls were sealed to prevent evaporation and seepage losses. following this, the tank was converted into a two-phased filtering system. first of all, the water falls into a basin filled with stones. in this way sand and mud sink to the bottom and floating particles such as leaves, paper and wood can be collected in the upper layers of the basin. sec-ondly, the roughly purified water is pumped in a vegetated gravel bed, similar to a reed bed. A biological treatment of the water occurs through microorganisms found on the roots of the various plants living in the gravel bed, such as reeds, rushes, canes and water lilies. After this, when the water has reached drinking water quality, a tank at the bottom stores the water. The storing tank is connect-ed to a booster station outside of the building. from here, the water is led via a piping network to the various building on the site. The sewage gets collected in a fast composer where later on the compost will be used in the various allotments (fond, 1999).

Watertank ufA fabrik.

- ufA fabrik -

23

in 1994 a flash flood occurred. it was the last time Eleonas could prove its ca-pacity as a flood plain. Even though the storm was very intense, the water didn’t manage to cross the border into Athens city. nevertheless, in 2003 it was de-cided that large-scale infrastructural projects were needed to avoid huge traffic congestion during the upcoming olympics. in order to directly connect south Athens to north Athens, the Kifissos was canalized and a motorway was built on top of it. During construction, heavy rainfall was experienced one night and parts of Athens were flooded. research indicated that if the river was not can-alized, damage would have been significantly lower (Evelipidou et al, Mazi & Koussis, Mimikou & Koustoyannis). The fundamental reason for the flood was a combination of two factors. firstly the due to the overwhelming urban carpet that is Athens city there is very little permeable surfaces and as a result the water picks up speed and continuously flows downwards until a drainage source is found. The second factor is that the canalisation completely removed the per-meability of the soil and instead acted as an accelerometer. Thus creating the flash floods that were experienced.

Highway over river Kifissos.

- canalization -

20

climate change forecasts predict that precipitation levels will increase around the Athens area and the temperature will decrease during winter months whilst summer months will become considerably dryer and hotter. This will lead to higher surface run off rates and increased water flow through existing rivers in Athens. combined this will create ideal flash flood environments. Bearing the canalization of the Kifissos in mind, flooding in Athens in the foreseeable future is likely (Tolika et al). no actions have been taken to protect the city from these predicted hazards. Due to the financial crisis it is unlikely that any action will be taken in the near future, especially since the majority of the environmental government department has been cut.

Athens flooded.

- flood risk -

21

from the 19th century onwards, heavy industry – in need of water, started ex-ploiting the river Kifissos and its side streams. soap factories, paper mills, tan-neries and later on chemical, electrical and plastic business all operated in the area whilst fully utilising the water provided by the river. As a result, the water table started to drop dramatically, furthermore the soil fertility and local biodi-versity was lost. At the end of the 20th century the majority of the industry had died off, leaving behind a polluted no mans land drained of all life. Many side streams had dried up and most devastating, the Kifissos had become so heavily polluted that it was no longer appropriate for water supply. The river became an open drain, flowing directly into the Mediterranean sea. The pollution levels were so high that a considerable amount of natural life such as fauna and flora became extinct or irreversibly damaged (Hellenic Ministry for The Environ-ment, Physical Planning & Public Works). The scale of this catastrophe gained international attention, which in turn forced the greek government to start in-stalling water treatment plants at the mouth of the river. This had a significant cost to the taxpayer. The Kifissos was becoming a hindrance.

old paper mill.

- industrialization -

18

in 1930 the greeks built Marathon Dam, some 45 kilometres outside of Athens. it was constructed to meet the increased water demand caused by the rapid pop-ulation increase in the Athens area following the huge influx of greek refugees from Asia Minor during and after the end of the greco-Turkish War. The Mar-athon Dam paved the way for the construction of three more dams, all creating considerably larger lakes than the Marathon. By the end of the 20th century they became Athens’ only water supply since the Kifissos, as stated before, became too polluted and the natural water table was depleted. shocking fact: due to poor transportation techniques 60-70 % of the water is lost on the journey from the dams to Athens (Eydap).

Marathon dam.

- reservoirs-

19

This section reflects on the water situation that existed in 2012 as a way of providing a baseline measurement for progress made to the cur-rent day. it provides an analysis of the various aspects of water, the problems associated with it and its relationship with the previously existing site.


Athens 2012 & Water

The river Kifissos was a fundamental factor for the placing of the city of Athens. The rivers source is in Mount Parnitha, one of the four mountains enclosing metropolitan Athens. from there, it flows all the way through the city to finally reach the saronic gulf in the south. floods turned Eleonas, the area immediate-ly adjacent to the river, into a fertile olive grove and consequently a sacred place for the Athenians. from the Antiquity onwards, Eleonas functioned as a flood plain for Athens. Heavy storms and thunder were not feared because Athens was protected and the fertility of Eleonas grew(British graduates society).

olive grove similar to the ones in Antique Eleonas.

- fertile flood Plane -

17

sAronic gulf

MArATHon DAM

river Kifissos

O2000 m

canalization

floodline before & after canalization

Athens 2012; water.

This chapter aims to provide an informative overview of the ways in which the project has analysed, utilised, adopted and applied water in such a way that maximises and exploits it to its full potential in order to improve urban society.

An urban analysis .

Water

sAronic gulf

MArATHon DAM

river Kifissos

O2000 m

canalization

floodline before & after canalization

Athens 2012; water.

Kerala government hQ photo: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1455746

Christiania rules photo: http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/p/m/1b70f/

Regulation photo: Geoff Leahy

Rapid development photo: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=54524867

earthship photo: http://www.taosearthships.com/

Radical tiny house photo: http://www.tinyhouselover.com/

UFA residents units photo: http://urbansod.blogspot.co.uk/2009_06_01_archive.html

east Berlin photo: http://ninamehta.com/loves/berlintechno/

Panorama photo: Geoff Leahy

nefos photo: http://www.jeveuxdelinfo.fr/2012/07/16/

Athens food market photo: http://www.agefotostock.com/en/Stock-Images/Rights-Managed/LPL-19034-63

havana farming photo: http://inhabitat.com/urban-farming-movement-sweeps-across-ha-vana-cuba-providing-50-of-fresh-food/havanaurbanfarm/

Arcosant photo: http://www.arcosanti.org/

UFA rooftops photo: http://www.extension.umn.edu/projects/yardandgarden/YGLnews/YGLnewsJun152009.html

13

tiny house photo: http://www.resourcesforlife.com

Landfill photo: http://www.greendiary.com/athens-streets-open-garbage-dump-ground.html

Waste foragers photo: http://www.ough.gr/index.php?mod=arti-cles&op=view&id=379&lang=en

Phoenix earthship photo: http://www.taosearthships.com/80750.htm

Zabbaleen truck photo: http://www.behance.net/gallery/Zabbaleen/1269467

tijuana photo: http://www.surfrider.org/jims-blog/entry/pictures-and-perspective-from-the-recent-tour-of-tijuana-river-watershed-to

Polykatoikia framework photo: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=54524867

Downtown Athens photo: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/feb/27/debt-crisis-euro-german-votes-greek-package

UFA Fabrik aerial photo: http://www.transartists.org/air/ufa_fabrik___international_cultur-al_centre_berlin.3707.html

Christiania aerial photo: http://katgermani.blogs.ku.dk/archives/44

Riot police photo: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/europe/

Fakelaki photo: http://www.mylefkada.gr/alles-eidiseis/diafora/8646-fakelaki.html

Refugee protest photo: http://framework.latimes.com/2011/02/01/pictures-in-the-news-112/#/0

School of democracy photo: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00j7txt

12

Thorn, h., Wasshede, C and nilson, t. 2011. Space for Urban Alternatives? Christiania 1971–2011.

tolika, Zanis & Anagnostopoulou. 2012. Regional climate change scenarios for Greece: future temperature and precipitation projections from ensembles of RCMs. Department of Meteorol-ogy and Climatology, School of Geology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

transition Culture. 2008. Review Garbage Warrior, Review on online blog http://transition-culture.org,

UFA FABRIK, About the UFA Fabrik. [online]. Available from: http://www.ufafabrik.de/en/nav.php?pid=44.

Valavanidis, A & Vlachogianni, t. 2011. The Most Important and Urgent environmental Prob-lems in Greece in the Last Decade.

Images

Olive grove photo: http://www.guestinn.com.

Old paper mill photo: http://www.minenv.gr/3/31/313/31304/e3130404.html

Marathon dam photo: http://www.greecetravel.com

highway photo: http://projectvtcanglais.free.fr/V2CLan11/contributions.htm

Athens flooded photo: http://www.ripfreak.com

Watertank UFA Fabrik photo: http://www.ufafabrik.de/en/nav.php?pid=44

Christiania canal photo: http://www.theswitchwatchblog.com

11

Milanovic,n. 2007. european urban sprawl: sustainability, cultures of (anti)urbanism and hy-brid Cityscapes.

Mimikou & Koustoyannis. 1995. 1994 extreme floods in Greece, US – Italy Research Work-shop on the hydrometeorology, Impacts, and Management of extreme Floods, Italy.

Moore,M. 1999. Development Report no.12: Cultivating havana: Urban Agriculture and Food Security in the Years of Crisis.

n. Malkoutzis, 2012. Is immigration a bigger issue for Greece than the economy?

nellemann, C. 2010. The tiny houses of Black Rock City: Metropolis.

Organisation for planning and environmental protection of Athens (OPePA). 2006. Athens Metropolitan Area Study.

Parayil Govindan. Kerala the development experience. Zed Books Ltd, 2000.

Parker, M., Fournier, V and Reedy, P. 2007. The Dictionary of Alternatives: Utopianism and Organization,

Pepper. 2007. India’s rivers are drowning in pollution. Cnn article.

Petropoulos, t. 2007. Keratea residents prepare for battle.

Petropoulos, t. 2010. War declared over Attica rubbish dump.

Philippopoulos, A. 2007. Law and the City.

SURBAn. 2004. Berlin:Ufa-Fabrik - An International Center for Culture and ecology

taylor & Francis. 2007. Critical Architecture.

Thomopoulos, e. 2011. The history of Greece.

10

Thorn, h., Wasshede, C and nilson, t. 2011. Space for Urban Alternatives? Christiania 1971–2011.

tolika, Zanis & Anagnostopoulou. 2012. Regional climate change scenarios for Greece: future temperature and precipitation projections from ensembles of RCMs. Department of Meteorol-ogy and Climatology, School of Geology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

transition Culture. 2008. Review Garbage Warrior, Review on online blog http://transition-culture.org,

UFA FABRIK, About the UFA Fabrik. [online]. Available from: http://www.ufafabrik.de/en/nav.php?pid=44.

Valavanidis, A & Vlachogianni, t. 2011. The Most Important and Urgent environmental Prob-lems in Greece in the Last Decade.

Images

Olive grove photo: http://www.guestinn.com.

Old paper mill photo: http://www.minenv.gr/3/31/313/31304/e3130404.html

Marathon dam photo: http://www.greecetravel.com

highway photo: http://projectvtcanglais.free.fr/V2CLan11/contributions.htm

Athens flooded photo: http://www.ripfreak.com

Watertank UFA Fabrik photo: http://www.ufafabrik.de/en/nav.php?pid=44

Christiania canal photo: http://www.theswitchwatchblog.com

11

Research

Abitz, J. 2008. havana: Feeding the city on urban agriculture. [online]. Available from: http://sustainablecities.dk/en/city-projects/cases/havana-feeding-the-city-on-urban-agriculture

Angelidakis, A. 2011. The contemporary ruin: a manifesto. [online]. Available from: http://www.domusweb.it/en/architecture/the-contemporary-ruin-a-manifesto/

Brekoulakis, t. 2010. A Visit to Athens’s Secret And Massive Garbage town. [online]. Availa-ble from: http://www.vice.com/read/ode-on-a-grecian-pile-of-crap-337-v17n2

British Graduate Society. 2009. The environment: background to the Kifissos Project. [on-line]. Available from: http://www.bgs.gr/main.php?l1=74&l2=109

Cosanti Foundation, 2012. Arcosanti. [online]. Available from: http://www.arcosanti.org/

Cruz, t. 2006. What adaptive architecture can learn from Shantytowns. [online]. Available from: http://rs.resalliance.org/2006/03/15/teddy-cruz-what-adaptive-architecture-can-learn-from-shantytowns/

D’Andrea. 2010. Students discover new figures on L.A. water waste, Santa Monica Daily Press article.

Davey, Review Garbage Warrior. [online]. Available from: http://www.sustainabiltyproblems.com

Demiris, n et al, (2011). Food Industry in Greece.

Dirksen, K. 2012. We The tiny house People. [online]. Available from: http://www.mnn.com/your-home/remodeling-design/blogs/watch-we-the-tiny-house-people

emms, S. 2010. Underground Berlin: past and present.

evelopidou, Mamassis, Vassilopoulos, Makropoulos & Koutsoyiannis. 2007. Flooding in Ath-ens: The Kephisos River flood event of 21-22/10/1994, technical University of Athens.

References

8

eydap. 2012.From the Marathon Dam until today, brochure by the Athenian Water Company.

Green Majority. 2008. Interview with Reynolds. [online]. Available from: http://besustainable.com/greenmajority/2008/03/07/tgm-75/

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9

AthenS 2012. The city finds itself in one of the greatest crises in its existence. Flooding risk,



Whatever the Ideal City may be, it is certainly not this Athens. More worryingly, Athens is not an isolated case; Athens is dotted around the world.

If people don’t live in an Ideal City, pioneers will seek to create it. history shows various examples where cities have been created that step outside the ex-

isting city. These cities of ‘Outscape Urbanism’ seek for a permanent or temporary

form of isolation in order to strive for and to create their Ideal.

AthenS 2047. This is exactly what happened in the Phoenix Zone over the last 35

years. In this place, Athenians have strived towards finding their Ideal by stepping outside reg-

ular Athens. With our help and knowledge, a truly wonderful place has been established where

urban freedom and experiment are the key words.


who consciously choose to change their way of urban living. On our request, they have provid-

ed us with their diaries and photographs, which allowed us to reconstruct the chronology of

the Phoenix Zone. At the same time, we asked them to write a short paragraph about how they



Lieve Smout & Geoffrey Leahy, 23 March 2047.

Abstract

6

Content

Water14

30 Waste

44 nature

58 Planning

74 Living

102 Merging all Layers

88 Democracy

7

AthenS 2012. The city finds itself in one of the greatest crises in its existence. Flooding risk,



Whatever the Ideal City may be, it is certainly not this Athens. More worryingly, Athens is not an isolated case; Athens is dotted around the world.

If people don’t live in an Ideal City, pioneers will seek to create it. history shows various examples where cities have been created that step outside the ex-

isting city. These cities of ‘Outscape Urbanism’ seek for a permanent or temporary

form of isolation in order to strive for and to create their Ideal.

AthenS 2047. This is exactly what happened in the Phoenix Zone over the last 35

years. In this place, Athenians have strived towards finding their Ideal by stepping outside reg-

ular Athens. With our help and knowledge, a truly wonderful place has been established where

urban freedom and experiment are the key words.


who consciously choose to change their way of urban living. On our request, they have provid-

ed us with their diaries and photographs, which allowed us to reconstruct the chronology of

the Phoenix Zone. At the same time, we asked them to write a short paragraph about how they



Lieve Smout & Geoffrey Leahy, 23 March 2047.

Abstract

6

From 23 March 2047 till 31 Au-gust 2047, the Bartlett School of Architecture hosted the ex-hibition ‘The Phoenix Zone: 35 years of Outscape Urbanism’ to celebrate the 35th birthday of the Phoenix Zone. Geoffrey Le-ahy & Lieve Smout curated the exhibition, both of them urban designers who have been strong-ly involved in the history of the Phoenix Zone. Due to the exhibi-tion’s success, this catalogue was set up afterwards based on the material collected for the exhibi-tion.

Exhibition

5

Born and raised in Brussels, Belgium, Lieve has ob-tained her Masters in Architecture at the Free Univer-sity Brussels in 2011. After broadening her horizons in Gothenburg (Sweden) and Shanghai (China), she met Geoffrey Leahy during her studies Urban Design at the Bartlett School Of Architecture (London, UK). While researching the city of Athens, they came in contact with the Phoenix Strategist Movement and decided to dedicate their professional career to the Phoenix Zone.

After obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in Product De-sign at the University of Leeds, Geoff Leahy decided to broaden his design focus and went on to study at Bartlett School of Architecture where he enrolled in a Master’s student in Urban Design. Whilst there he ex-plored an array of urban design issues and concepts, with particular emphasis on the ‘Ideal City’. During his research trip to Athens, he collaborated with Lieve Smout. Following this they formed a partnership with the Phoenix Strategist Movement.

Geoffrey Leahy

Lieve Smout

Robert Dye & Jason Coleman Publishers

With special thanks to our publisher, Colin Fournier and Graciela Moreno.

‘We, Geoffrey Leahy & Lieve Smout, confirm that the work presented is our own. Where information has been derived from other sources, we confirm that this has been indicated.’

Copyright 2047

In Collaboration with UCL,Bartlett School of Architecture,MArch Urban Design 11-12

OUTSCAPEURBANISM

Urban thinking through the Phoenix Zone

UCL, The Bartlett School of ArchitectureMArch Urban Design 11-12

Robert Dye & Jason Coleman Publishers


the phoenix zone

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