Kalochori Lagoon | Wetland Revival
Diploma Design Project
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
The project deals with the design of a new wetland recreational park at Kalochori Lagoon. This coastal wetland is special because despite being at the edge of the large urban center of Thessaloniki and facing all the pressures of it, it constitutes one of the most important areas of the National Park of Axios-Loudias-Aliakmonas, hosting great numbers of birds throughout the year. The aim of the intervention is to seek the transitions between the qualities of the context in order to form a unified composition that respects the landscape and enhances the multiple experiences of the wetland. Additionally, it offers the visitors a recreational experience, physical and spiritual serenity as well as the opportunity to explore the nature.
The new state that will be created should flow into the landscape and smooth out on its edges leaving the intense urban front on one side, and the protective embankment on the other. This idea is finally implemented with the synthesis of two organizational systems. The first system is the aligned segments that intensely demonstrate the human intervention and connect the second system which is the curved surfaces either natural or artificial ones.
In conclusion, the conscientious intervention in a protected but neglected landscape, only positive effects can have to both nature and society.