“Citizens’ Town Hall” by Eleftheria Lampropoulou

Eleftheria Lampropoulou is a Part 2 Architectural Assistant. She graduated with distinction from University of East London in June. She won the RIBA East London Society Architects Degree Prize in 2017, and she was nominated for the RIBA Silver Medal in 2020.

She has one year of experience as a Part 1 Architectural Assistant and she is currently seeking a Part 2 Architectural Assistant job in order to expand her knowledge in projects related to the urban context and its complexities.

Here is Eleftheria’s MArch final year project. The Citizens’ Town Hall. Recently Athens has seen a rise in unrestrained construction, which affects people’s everyday lives. The Citizens’ Town Hall aims to give citizens “the right to the city” (Henri Lefebvre). It introduces participatory democracy in modern Athens through participatory planning. It connects the citizens and the state, in order to build socially and environmentally sustainable cities.

The project highlights the resemblance between play and participatory planning; frameworks used in play enable an understanding in the way cities are planned. The Citizens’ Town Hall is a place where citizens participate in Athens’ planning, through playful engagement, and in multiple cultural events.

Each level of the main Citizens’ Town Hall has an atrium, allowing visual connections and a sense of community between floors. The building consists of flexible spaces, setups for play and civic engagement. The louvres on the façade function as a climatic device and a symbol of participation. The Citizens’ Town Hall is a place for democracy, for the citizens and their city. In times of separation and segregation, it celebrates the power of togetherness.

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