Desmos: Design, Inventiveness and Collaboration in a Time of Crisis

Abstract

The modernist polykatikia typology (translating to multi-dwelling) arose in Athens after the population boom of the 1960s. Now sixty years later, the demands of the city have changed. No longer is there a need to build houses for people, but a need to focus on the workplace. As economic turmoil is pressuring Greece towards larger, more efficient operations, the thesis seeks to signify the importance of micro-economies of informal Athens. Given that energy and vibrancy are defining characteristics of the city, it considers how the workplace can intersect with public space to create new relationships in Athens. By curating talent, people and expertise which already exist in Athens, the aim is to propose workplaces based on resource sharing within underutilized zones in the city: an urban gesture which re-imagines the city blocks of Athens as a system of micro-agoras.