The makeover planned for the area surrounding the Lycabettus Hill theater in central Athens will focus on highlighting the rocky landscape and the sweeping views of the capital, according to Topio7 architecture and landscape design firm which recently won the competition to undertake the project.
Describing her vision to Kathimerini, Panita Karamanea, one of the company’s three partners, said that “Lycabettus is not just any hill in the capital, it’s not just a green space. It is a place with a mythological and cultural dimension, something very important for its identity.”
The competition was launched last year by the Public Properties Company (ETAD), the Attica Regional Authority and the Culture Ministry with the aim of converting the parking lot and the wider area into an area for walks and recreation as well as redesigning the supporting buildings in order to highlight the aesthetic value of the theater.
Lycabettus Hill, an iconic landmark on the Athens landscape, is to undergo a major overhaul designed to make it safer and more attractive to visitors and local residents, the City of Athens announced on Thursday.
The works are scheduled to begin immediately and estimated to take roughly 18 months, while the entire project is budgeted at 1.5 million euros, based on plans drawn up by the previous municipal administration.
According to an announcement, Athens Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis will ask the Public Properties Company to make a concession of the 3.5 hectares that it owns on Lycabettus Hill (out of a total of 44.2) to the municipality, so that the latter can press ahead with its plans for a comprehensive makeover.
Among the planned works are the pilot implementation of innovative, anti-flooding techniques that use aesthetically pleasing and gentle, eco-friendly materials, as well as the laying of special tarmac on a road running around the hill for about 1,700 metres, so that it blends harmoniously into the landscape and provides full anti-flooding protection.
“Our aim is to hand over the Athens’ citizens and all its visitors an area for living and doing activities, but also a natural organization for the production of culture,” Bakoyannis said.
Along with the land given by the Public Properties Company, the municipality will complete the project to create an urban forest of “unique beauty and usefulness” for Attica, he added.
Other plans include a refurbishment of footpaths and walking routes, covering about 3.0 km, that connect sites on the Hill.