As a designer, I am passionate about urban placemaking and community-driven projects by capitalising on the experiential relationships created between humans and the built environment, studying how to cater spatial hierarchies and agency to a culturally and socially diverse clientele.
Set on the slopes of Mount Lycabettus, this project redefines how Athens shares its stories, not through static exhibition, but through immersive performance. Designed as a semi-indoor, semi-outdoor cultural venue, it celebrates the duality of Athens, past and present, local and global, structured and expressive, by offering a stage for visual and performing arts deeply rooted in Greek identity.
At its core, the project integrates landscape and architecture, sculpting into the terrain to increase biodiversity net gain (BNG) and create much-needed public green space for local residents. The outer courtyards, gardens, and stepped mounds are designed for walking, gathering, play, and community art workshops, giving agency back to the neighbourhoods below the hill.
The performance theatre occupies 60% of the GIA, designed with a 14m ceiling height to accommodate bold, spatially demanding performances inspired by artists like Dimitris Papaioannou and Konstantinos Rigos. Their visually rich and choreographic work becomes a conceptual reference.
The journey culminates at the top: a viewing platform that frames the entirety of Athens. Here, the city becomes the final spectacle.
Forging Connections is at the core of my design philosophy, seamlessly integrating Stratford’s old and new. Inspired by psychogeographic mapping, I conceptualized a pathway that cuts through the historic Rex Theatre, symbolically linking the past to the present.This new route not only reconnects the site to its surroundings but also makes the Rex a gateway to both heritage and innovation.
Connections extend through materiality, where traditional Art Deco motifs like arches and brickwork are reimagined with modern, sustainable materials, reflecting Stratford’s dual identity.
