Becoming Landscape
Our proposal for the Regeneration and Reuse of former coal mining areas in the West Macedonian region is based on the idea of recovering via habitation. The soil, the main component of this industrial landscape re-inhabits the place.
A volume of soil appears in the area and defines the place between the settlements, the agricultural lands of the North and the industrial lands of the South. This earthy plinth covers the valley and creates a new ground up to twelve meters higher than the existing. A piece of earth, fresh and fertile, large and flat, in contrast to the sharp topography of the mining area, is only interrupted by a network of corridors and the flow of the little river.
The plinth stands as a prize in the post-mining times and will have the same fate as the site itself: The stream that flows, the vegetation and the natural forces will damage its perfectly artificial horizontal form. With time passing the ground will change drastically and then the only thing left will be an earthy ruin, a repository site of memories.
Networks of infrastructure made for reuse.
In close proximity to the plinth we propose the construction of a linear roof/pergola. This is a new public space for the area, a built infrastructure that will possibly house and support all future recreational and athletic uses, allowing the redefinition of the place.
Finally the proposal concludes with the positioning of a viewing platform, a point of observation. From there people can understand the greatness of the earth in comparison to the human nature, the power of topography in relation to the flatness of the horizon, observe the landscape that is constantly moving and being transformed, and enjoy the “Topos” in the process of becoming.
Stella Pantelia, Athanasios Spanomaridis
+ M. Akrivou, A. Athanasiou, P. Fakiolaki
