Varvakeios Square - "Agora" is part of a wider proposal for the regeneration of the center of Athens, which is inevitably identified as the regeneration of the Historic Triangle: Piraeus-Stadium-Ermou. The metropolitan, supra-local character of the neoclassical triangle of Kleanthis and Schaubert is self-evident and so potent that it cannot be challenged: neither by the economic crisis nor by the aging of its building content. Yet it has indubitably been deprived of its éclat. The intrinsic power of the triangle lies mainly in its relation to the Acropolis through its vertical correlation with Athenas Street, its once almighty bisector -the linear heart of the city. It is this feverish, economic, commercial and symbolic vein that channeled into the tangential to the hill Ermou Street must form with it a powerful T, not just of movements –but also of a renewed, vigorous, complex metropolitan life. During the rejuvenation of the Historical Triangle, regaining the public domain is now essential – and it can only be interlinked as a strategy with its inherent characteristics, the recovery of the innate radiance of this linear T: between Omonoia and the Acropolis, between Syntagma and Kerameikos. The proposal for the regeneration of the Centre of Athens consists in the functional, geometrical, and cultural strengthening of the internal structure of the Historical Triangle, through the creation of three new tension-poles: two at the ends of the hypotenuse Ermou – in Syntagma and Kerameikos – and one in the middle of the bisector Athenas – in the Varvakeios Market. Rectangle, Square, Circle: 3 simple new geometries accompanied by crucial traffic, functional and geometric arrangements attempt -in synergy with the pedestrian grid restructuring- the recovery of public space, the reactivation of the axes Athenas – Ermou, the amplification of the Athenian Triangle’s inner life.

The most serious drawback of today's Agora square is the absence of a true "square". With the existing sloping plane between its north and south fronts hindering the relationship between them, what is mainly hindered is the free fucntioning of a potentially vivid open-air market. In addition to restoring the simple horizontal level of the square, the proposal consists of a triple move: 1. A slit in the ground of the square creates an elongated, sunken shopping street hosting 30 shops on each side - with the corresponding required auxiliary spaces - while connecting with the Theater Square. 2. A large canopy measuring 38 X 38 meters ensures the symbolic and functional enhancement of the space, both through its dialectical relationship with the opposing building of the Agora and through its wide protective shade. 3. A similar shelter, but lower -as a perimetrical structure- welcomes an additional open-air market, creating a protected inner courtyard. The two pairs of pillars bearing the twin prestressed beams of the canopy are located at north and south respectively, while simultaneously accommodating elevators connecting to the restructured, underground parking space. Its stairs are connected to the level of the underground building. The lower canopy offers, in addition to shading, protection from the rain, while its roof is planted. Through a large-scale shelter at a height of 12 meters, the redesign of Varvakeios' Square attempts the sculptural and functional strenghtening of the main market of Athens. 

Varvakeios Square - "Agora" is part of a wider proposal for the regeneration of the center of Athens, which is inevitably identified as the regeneration of the Historic Triangle: Piraeus-Stadium-Ermou. The metropolitan, supra-local character of the neoclassical triangle of Kleanthis and Schaubert is self-evident and so potent that it cannot be challenged: neither by the economic crisis nor by the aging of its building content. Yet it has indubitably been deprived of its éclat. The intrinsic power of the triangle lies mainly in its relation to the Acropolis through its vertical correlation with Athenas Street, its once almighty bisector -the linear heart of the city. It is this feverish, economic, commercial and symbolic vein that channeled into the tangential to the hill Ermou Street must form with it a powerful T, not just of movements –but also of a renewed, vigorous, complex metropolitan life. During the rejuvenation of the Historical Triangle, regaining the public domain is now essential – and it can only be interlinked as a strategy with its inherent characteristics, the recovery of the innate radiance of this linear T: between Omonoia and the Acropolis, between Syntagma and Kerameikos. The proposal for the regeneration of the Centre of Athens consists in the functional, geometrical, and cultural strengthening of the internal structure of the Historical Triangle, through the creation of three new tension-poles: two at the ends of the hypotenuse Ermou – in Syntagma and Kerameikos – and one in the middle of the bisector Athenas – in the Varvakeios Market. Rectangle, Square, Circle: 3 simple new geometries accompanied by crucial traffic, functional and geometric arrangements attempt -in synergy with the pedestrian grid restructuring- the recovery of public space, the reactivation of the axes Athenas – Ermou, the amplification of the Athenian Triangle’s inner life.

The most serious drawback of today's Agora square is the absence of a true "square". With the existing sloping plane between its north and south fronts hindering the relationship between them, what is mainly hindered is the free fucntioning of a potentially vivid open-air market. In addition to restoring the simple horizontal level of the square, the proposal consists of a triple move: 1. A slit in the ground of the square creates an elongated, sunken shopping street hosting 30 shops on each side - with the corresponding required auxiliary spaces - while connecting with the Theater Square. 2. A large canopy measuring 38 X 38 meters ensures the symbolic and functional enhancement of the space, both through its dialectical relationship with the opposing building of the Agora and through its wide protective shade. 3. A similar shelter, but lower -as a perimetrical structure- welcomes an additional open-air market, creating a protected inner courtyard. The two pairs of pillars bearing the twin prestressed beams of the canopy are located at north and south respectively, while simultaneously accommodating elevators connecting to the restructured, underground parking space. Its stairs are connected to the level of the underground building. The lower canopy offers, in addition to shading, protection from the rain, while its roof is planted. Through a large-scale shelter at a height of 12 meters, the redesign of Varvakeios' Square attempts the sculptural and functional strenghtening of the main market of Athens.