Thymio Papayiannis & Associates Io Carydi, HMK Consulting
The requalification has therefore a complex scope that encompasses masterplanning, landscape and urban design to address the following key aspects:
b) Reconcepting the character of the existing coastal road as a recreational road whose primary aim is to ensure the appreciation of the landscape and sea views.
c) Repairing the damages of human interventions that compromise the quality of the coastal landscape and the beachfront.
d) Disciplining existing and future constructions and demarcating clear boundaries for private developments ensuring continuity in public space through the proposed design of the promenades.
e) Enhancing and expanding the experience of the coastal landscape for visitors for walking and swimming, namely through the creation of pathways and rocky swim spots.
f) Upgrading the image of the beaches and providing amenities for visitors and tourists, such as public stairs, ramps, sitting areas or showers.
g) Rationalizing utilities and energy infrastructure networks for servicing the beach zones
h) Last but not least consolidating through each and every proposed intervention the identity of the Riviera.
The design interventions have been structured in three different subareas (lots) which were carried out as separate assignments.
The study area of LOT 3 has a total length of 5.3km from the Bay of Paradise up to Marina of Orikum. It was awarded by ADF to the joint venture formed by TP&D with TPA Greece and another technical consultancy responsible for infrastructure design (HMK Consulting Shpk) in June 2020. The study area presents a more flat morphology compared to the other two lots, thus involving the design of more green areas and softscapes. Also, overall this area needs more systematic intervention in the restoration of eroded beaches.
The area of the Stream of Rradhime is envisioned as outdoor athletic park with football, basketball and tennis courts amid shaded rest areas. The stream banks are rehabiliated with ecological design. The continuation of the coastal promenade and bicycle route to the other side of the stream is enabled through a metal-wooden bridge.
Following from there, the Hidden Coast, an informal area where there is presently no accessibility, is envisioned as a linear green park, while the eroded beach zone is restored with wooden piers that are interlinked by a wooden coastal promenade.
The ‘green beach’ motiv is followed also in the other segments of the study area organized through the interference of wooden piers that serve the restoration of the beaches, some of which are designed to serve also the docking of small boats. The masterplan includes proposals for the integration of beach bars and services in selected spots, such as in the case of the existing small fishing port.
The beach before the Marina of Orikum is a very wide and flat zone that creates a unique opportunity for field activities with orientation for family tourism and active sports. The area is characterized by landscape degradation due to lack of vegetation that creates sense of abandonment and denaturalization. To proposed design deals with this problem by introducing a typology of ‘green hills’ which shape the circulation paths and create enclosure and differentiation. The ‘Sculpture Square’, the ‘Osmeni channel water square’ and the ‘Long Pier’ represent the landmark design elements in this zone.
