HEL
—
Hellinikon
A Long Center

Hellinikon

Utilizing built form as a strategic carrier of culture in opposition of the status quo, the project links the disconnected suburban mountain communities to the east with the sea to the west while simultaneously cutting the massive Hellinikon International Airport and Olympic Park into distinct zones.

SITE: The largest, publicly owned, urban, coastal, open area in Attica. A void in the polykatoikia landscape.

MOMENT: The transition between the intensity of the sprawling city and the expansive isolation of the runways.

SCALE: A surreal monumental linear zone.

This new linear centrality capitalizes on the tension between the voided landscape of the airstrip and the dense energetic randomness of the surrounding sprawl. A pair of linear buildings that establish a thickened zone as a continuous path and sequence between sprawl and nothingness. Clear intentions and means of operation make the monumentality of the architecture an accepted and proactive participant in the city. The scale, relations, and intrinsic urban functions of the building and park system establish a new center within Athens.

A Long Center

PROGRAM: Urban Intervention

CONTEXT: Hellinikon, Athens, Greece

SITE: Hellinikon International Airport

CRITICS: Elia Zenghelis + Andrew Benner (Yale School of Architecture)

YEAR:
2014
AWARDS:

Yale School of Architecture - H.I. Feldman Prize 2014 Winner
Architectural Review - Global Architecture Graduate Award (GAGA) 2014 Postgraduate Runner-Up

NEWS:
12/11/14
—
The Architectural Review
Global Architecture Graduate Award

Urbanism

City

Housing

Infrastructure

Landscape

Exploded plan drawing showing the many layers of the proposed Hellinikon system of two linear bars and other programsExploded plan drawing showing the many layers of the proposed Hellinikon system of two linear bars and other programsExploded plan drawing showing the many layers of the proposed Hellinikon system of two linear bars and other programsExploded plan drawing showing the many layers of the proposed Hellinikon system of two linear bars and other programs

As a pair of long buildings, program and density fluctuates across both lines and between levels. The lack of repetitive floor plates results in a diverse range of discovered spaces and relations.

Exploded plan drawing showing the many layers of the proposed Hellinikon system of two linear bars and other programs
Exploded plan drawing showing the many layers of the proposed Hellinikon system of two linear bars and other programs

PROJECT IMAGES

Pair of study models looking at the two endpoints of the HEL insertion with relationships to the mountain suburbs and the seaPair of study models looking at the two endpoints of the HEL insertion with relationships to the mountain suburbs and the seaPair of study models looking at the two endpoints of the HEL insertion with relationships to the mountain suburbs and the seaPair of study models looking at the two endpoints of the HEL insertion with relationships to the mountain suburbs and the sea
Animation highlighting the various related zones around the airport with an entry point for the HEL insertionAnimation highlighting the various related zones around the airport with an entry point for the HEL insertionAnimation highlighting the various related zones around the airport with an entry point for the HEL insertionAnimation highlighting the various related zones around the airport with an entry point for the HEL insertion
Animation of the three ambitions for reflection caused by the insertion of the HEL linear city into the urban fabricAnimation of the three ambitions for reflection caused by the insertion of the HEL linear city into the urban fabricAnimation of the three ambitions for reflection caused by the insertion of the HEL linear city into the urban fabricAnimation of the three ambitions for reflection caused by the insertion of the HEL linear city into the urban fabric
Masterplan drawing showing the distinct neighborhoods around the airport site in relation to the HEL insertionMasterplan drawing showing the distinct neighborhoods around the airport site in relation to the HEL insertionMasterplan drawing showing the distinct neighborhoods around the airport site in relation to the HEL insertionMasterplan drawing showing the distinct neighborhoods around the airport site in relation to the HEL insertion
Model photograph of the architectural model for the proposed HEL intervention viewed from the urban endpoint of the barsModel photograph of the architectural model for the proposed HEL intervention viewed from the urban endpoint of the barsModel photograph of the architectural model for the proposed HEL intervention viewed from the urban endpoint of the barsModel photograph of the architectural model for the proposed HEL intervention viewed from the urban endpoint of the bars
Animation illustrating the reciprocal relationship between the adjacent context and the attraction of the HEL insertionAnimation illustrating the reciprocal relationship between the adjacent context and the attraction of the HEL insertionAnimation illustrating the reciprocal relationship between the adjacent context and the attraction of the HEL insertionAnimation illustrating the reciprocal relationship between the adjacent context and the attraction of the HEL insertion
Exploded plan drawing showing the many layers of the proposed Hellinikon system of two linear bars and other programsExploded plan drawing showing the many layers of the proposed Hellinikon system of two linear bars and other programsExploded plan drawing showing the many layers of the proposed Hellinikon system of two linear bars and other programsExploded plan drawing showing the many layers of the proposed Hellinikon system of two linear bars and other programs
Site plan drawing for HEL showing the confrontation and results of the inserted bars with the airport infrastructureSite plan drawing for HEL showing the confrontation and results of the inserted bars with the airport infrastructureSite plan drawing for HEL showing the confrontation and results of the inserted bars with the airport infrastructureSite plan drawing for HEL showing the confrontation and results of the inserted bars with the airport infrastructure
Exploded axon of the multiple connections and additions attached to the HEL linear bars throughout the airport intersectionExploded axon of the multiple connections and additions attached to the HEL linear bars throughout the airport intersectionExploded axon of the multiple connections and additions attached to the HEL linear bars throughout the airport intersectionExploded axon of the multiple connections and additions attached to the HEL linear bars throughout the airport intersection
Animation of linear urban precedents through history to inform the strategy of HELAnimation of linear urban precedents through history to inform the strategy of HELAnimation of linear urban precedents through history to inform the strategy of HELAnimation of linear urban precedents through history to inform the strategy of HEL
Section perspective of the central space created between the two infrastructural HEL bars with porous public levelsSection perspective of the central space created between the two infrastructural HEL bars with porous public levelsSection perspective of the central space created between the two infrastructural HEL bars with porous public levelsSection perspective of the central space created between the two infrastructural HEL bars with porous public levels
Flat axonometric drawing illustrating the duality of the split park and city infill approaching from the northFlat axonometric drawing illustrating the duality of the split park and city infill approaching from the northFlat axonometric drawing illustrating the duality of the split park and city infill approaching from the northFlat axonometric drawing illustrating the duality of the split park and city infill approaching from the north
Comparison of the typology of the linear bar found in ancient Greek examples of the linear city and the stoa of eumenesComparison of the typology of the linear bar found in ancient Greek examples of the linear city and the stoa of eumenesComparison of the typology of the linear bar found in ancient Greek examples of the linear city and the stoa of eumenesComparison of the typology of the linear bar found in ancient Greek examples of the linear city and the stoa of eumenes

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