International open ideas competition for the design of the surrounding area of the ancient theater 'A' in Larissa, Greece

The presence of archeology within contemporary urban fabrics can often arise problems of different nature, which transform the city into an obstacle course between fenced cultural heritage and "archaeological" ruins, isolated and detached from urban city life and from its relational spaces. The competition proposal seeks to integrate the requests for the enhancement of cultural and archaeological heritage with those of contemporary social life within a new free, playful and healthy public space, lived in by all social groups and all kind of citizens. The Ancient Theater 'A' will be part of a linear public path that starts from the Central Square of Larissa, where an "urban nave", obtained from the demolition of the blocks between the parallel streets Papanastasiou and Apollonos, connects to Venizelou street, towards the ancient theater 'A'. At the urban scale, our proposal intends to re-center the acropolis area, giving it a central role not only from a symbolic point of view, but also as a hub for the network of the urban pedestrian paths. Throughout a straight path, that borders the edge of the green embankment of the reconstituted cavea, the acropolis comes to be the heart of a circular environmental system that connects the green and river systems of the city. The "urban nave" is characterized by a long canopy-pergola made up of slender steel structures and shading slats, fragmented by some pre-existing architectural structures and by precious existing and newly planted trees. At the edge of the "urban nave", towards Venizelou Street, there is a ramp that leads to an underground level, an open air patio which overlooks the ticket office, the toilets, the bookshop, a cafeteria and the entrance to the technical rooms of the theater: dressing rooms, bathrooms, showers, costume warehouse and, to the left of the theater, the prop warehouse. This patio comes to be the open air foyer to the visit area of ​​the archaeological site, leading in the orchestra and the proscenium of the theater. To the right of the ‘Ancient theater A’ there is a multifunctional building that contains a cafeteria with a panoramic terrace, situated at the level of the street, while at the lower level there is a multipurpose conference room of 200 square meters. From Venizelou Street the urban path reaches the level of the Fortress hill with a climb, set to the left of the theater, which runs along the cavea on one side, along the enclosure reserved to the archeologists on the other. The enclosure reserved to the archaeologists is a courtyard building with walls and shelves for remains, that makes the archaeological finds perceptible from the public path. In the courtyard of the building, on the other hand, the warehouses, archives and offices overlook. The path between the warehouse and the theatre is divided into one that runs in the green of the Fortress Hill and another one that climbs up to the top of the slope of the theater. The park is redesigned according to landscape criteria through an abstract grid in which new plantings are arranged, integrating the existing ones, thus giving the new paths a healthy shade that mitigates the temperature and oxygenates the urban area. The main route divides the green area into a predominantly wooded area, to the west side, and into a grass one, with meadows surrounding the archaeological remains, situated at the east side, where new playgrounds are located at the edge of the garden. Thus, through interventions targeted to subtract degraded buildings, floors, green surfaces and a few new volumes, including the virtual and dematerialized one of the canopy-pergola, the BB8888 competition proposal transforms a series of isolated, underused and degraded urban places into an unitary linear public space, which links in a single path the Fortress Hill with the Central Square, providing a series of social spaces, archaeological areas, green parterre and playgrounds, giving the city a new identity grafted on its millenary tradition. The ‘Ancient theater A’, on the other hand, becomes the hinge of this public space, transforming itself into a multipurpose structure that is at the same time an archaeological site, a theatrical space, a public promenade, an urban scenography and a green area for relax. In this long path, all the activities proper of contemporary city life are arranged, according to criteria of environmental sustainability, social resilience and cultural identity: parks, services for commerce and dining, playgrounds, archaeological sites equipped with services and cultural structures, the small auditorium-multipurpose room, the theater itself with its service areas (dressing rooms, warehouses) and, finally, the Larissa Archeo LAB located in the former bakery, freed from the current function of warehouse, now located in the West enclosure. This space is a participatory archeology laboratory, to actively involve the community and raise awareness of the patrimonial value of one's territory.