Municipal Market of Chalkida _ 1ST PRIZE

LOCATION Chalkida, GREECE

the market as an architectural palimpsest
The main goal of the architectural proposal is to enhance the character of the Municipal Market as a monument, by emphasizing the sequential construction phases and using a unique contemporary architectural vocabulary for the new additions.

On Kriezotou, Arethousis and Venizelos streets' facades, marking the late neoclassical section of the monument, a new skin is placed with wooden frame, and forms the new facades and the new roofs, on the trace of the original volumes.

Wooden canopies are placed in front of the interior facades of those buildings, while in the southwest corner of the market, a new building is designed on the trace of the original.

The part of the monument that belongs to the second historical phase, placed within the modern style, marks the main facade of the Market to the city.

The facades are designed following the existing proportions and traces, while the canopies that provide shade are placed at Neofutou street. On the first floor one can find the administration pole as well as the reception of visitors who will be hosted on the rooftop for cultural events.

The central open-air aisle between the inner parts of main building, is enriched with a canopy, where a kiosk and an information point are located, in an effort to enhance the promenade from the city to the market and restore the monument's relationship with the urban surroundings.

Regarding the uses that will be hosted within the Market, the main objective for a successful public integration is the active implication of the civil society. Thus, it is proposed to create a core of alternating activities, dedicated to the community with a focus on traditional arts and crafts. It is also proposed to promote the coexistence of commercial with cultural and educational activities, the integration of uses with complementary or extended calendars and the planning of events in the open spaces of Market and Square.

the Market Square as an organic extension

In terms of public space, today the square stands as an elevated urban void within the historic city center area rather than a square of the city. The main design principles of the new square include integrating it into a broader network of pedestrian streets, blending the boundaries between the square and the surroundings, connecting the square with the market through the materiality of the ground and creating three main thematic w ithin the square: the market, the stage and the courtyard.

TITLE OF PROJECT MUNICIPAL MARKET OF CHALKIDA: Field of interactions

TEAM

Alexandros Zomas, Mara Papavasileiou (Micromega)

Georgia Mpountouraki

contributors

Marianthi Papaggelopoulou (student of architecture)

Georgia Salta (student of architecture)
 

DESCRIPTION
the municipal market in the contemporary life of the city

The dynamic reintegration of Chalkida's Municipal Market in the city's social, commercial and economic life is the ultimate goal of the proposal, after inverting its current status as urban void within the city fabric.
The market used to constitute, since Mayor Hercules Gazepis founded it in 1885, a meeting point of the residents within the city borders with the ones outside.

Even before the Turkish occupation, a place of commercial transactions named “Ouzoun Tsrsi” or “the Long Bazaar” (now Gazepi Street) was located at this point of city.

The Market has always been the heart of the social life of the city: this character of a place of meeting and exchange sets the orientation for the contemporary interventions in a spirit of creative restoration.


 

t