elastic limit

Topio7’s project “Elastic limit” was awarded with the 1st Prize at the Architectural Competition for Regeneration and Reuse of the former Cemetery of Neapoli in Athens, Greece. This inaccessible to public use site is characterized by isolation and melancholic memories. The proposal envisions an ‘osmosis’ between park and city that will contribute to the neighborhood’s revitalization. Main project’s objective is the creation of an open, accessible public space and park with ecological character, with emphasis on the social dimension and the site’s memory. Symbolically the idea proposes an “active ground”, a vivid natural park, α dynamic scenery that changes during the four seasons.
The park is organized by a series of successive circular zones that gradually lead from the city’s buzz to an enclosed recreational landscape. A perimetric promenade with entrance plazas leads to a green “buffer” zone with sports uses, picnic areas and recreational uses: the "elastic limit". This filter of greenery leads to the main area - a large clearing of rest areas and recreational zones, with a cafe-restaurant embedded in the topography.The linear cemetery axes are kept as a memory and constitute the main connecting promenades. Various thematic landscape zones are proposed, such as the Church plaza, the amphitheater, the Mediterranean gardens, the orchard, clearings, the wetland. A serpentine path is proposed that offers a slower experience of the constantly changing space.