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Melina-Maria Daskalopoulou, Aikaterina Ritsoni
Anavyssos (Gr. Ανάβυσσος) is a coastal suburban settlement, 34km southeast of Athens, on the foothills of Olympus hill (487m). Since 2011, Anavyssos constitutes a municipal unit of Saronikos, with a permanent population of 6.202 inhabitants and a total surface of 14.478km2.
The National Road ‘EO91’ (Athinon - Souniou Ave.) bisects Anavyssos and the coast. Its main landscape features are the peninsula of Aghios Nikolaos and the Alykes (Gr. Αλυκές, salt marshes). The peninsula is named after the chapel of Aghios Nikolaos (Gr. Άγιος Νικόλαος, St. Nicholas), protector of the seas and sailors according to the Christian Orthodox religion. Due to its geographic location and topography, Aghios Nikolaos served for centuries as a natural fortification and a safe haven. In 1922, following the Asia Minor crisis, refugees settled in Anavyssos, on state provided land. Until their official closure in 1969, the salt marshes were the main income resource for the settlers. Till recently, various temporary activities such as music festivals and the Rally Acropolis took place in Anavyssos, nevertheless without any planning, proper infrastructure or support facilities.
All in all, strong pressures for tourism development along the coast, the common practice of building beyond the urban plan, the inadequacy of environmental protection mechanisms and the lack of knowledge with regards to the wetland, have resulted into its significant degradation. Since 2014, with the provisions of law N. 4277/2014, Anavyssos is under protection primarily banning construction and road development, land clearing or filling.
In-between: land meets the sea
Anavyssos, Attica, GR
Melina-Maria Daskalopoulou , Aikaterina Ritsoni
The primary aim of the project is to reunite people with the sea and the coast through the creation of a metropolitan park that extends along the coast from the GNTO School to the Old Phokaia’s port.
The reactivation of the salt marshes and the enhancement of a fully accessible coastal front, required the deviation of the Athinon-Souniou Avenue along the site’s northern borders. The main programmatic anchors of the park development are the New Tourism School, a Centre for Marine and Environmental Research, a public Beach and Water Sports Club. The Centres will offer a variety of amenities including hotel and camping, spa, thalassotherapy, salt milling infrastructures, environmental laboratories, educational facilities, organized beaches and water sports. Many of these services will be housed in renovated existing facilities, currently out of use. A new network of designed pathways and cycling routes will constitute the new means of circulation within and through the new park, while frequent shuttle bus services departing from two main parking nodes will facilitate circulation within the car-free development.
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