The Athens Assembly
Project by Sammie Pitter
RIBA Silver Medal Nomination
Gods and Goddesses, Democrats and Republicans (and Badly Stuffed Cats)
Athens is known as the birthplace of democracy. The Ancient Agora and the Pnyx Hill are two key sites for politics in Ancient Greece. The Pnyx Hill was a site of assembly, estimated to have held around 3,000 citizens with votes being conducted by a show of hands, although only certain political figures were given the right to speak here.
In recent decades, protesting has become a rite of passage to citizens of Athens, triggered in 1973 by the Athens Polytechnic uprising as law students went on strike to protest the forced conscription created by the military Junta. There have since been many protests – e.g. in response to Government decisions, police brutality and for anniversaries of past clashes. The people of Athens are passionate about standing up for what they believe and voicing their political opinions.
The Athens Assembly creates a new location for the citizens of Athens to debate current issues affecting everyday people, providing a perspective that does not follow the bias of the ruling government and paid politicians.
The masterplan proposed an approach for developing the UNESCO heritage boundary site encompassing the Acropolis, with a primary focus on fostering meaningful connections between local communities and tourists. The Athens Assembly is located within the Political Node of this masterplan – traces the footprints of ruins of the ancient stoa and Themistoclean walls which lie south of the Pnyx Assembly.
Excavations on the Pnyx Hill have shown that this site was used as an assembly by Athenians from around 500BC, with evidence of three distinct developments in antiquity. The Athens Assembly draws inspiration from the mass of the proposed restoration of the Third Period, allowing for an appreciation of the scale of the ancient site, whilst providing a modern purpose and design. The ruins of these three Periods are currently buried beneath dirt on the site which would be carefully removed to allow new views to these historic stones. The excavated dirt would be used to build the rammed earth walls of the new assembly.
The design draws focus to the Period III historic bema speaker platform by encircling it, whilst introducing a new citizens’ assembly that emanates a distinct radial geometry opening toward the cityscape. Throughout the structure, a radial timber glulam portal frame system is employed, complemented by rammed earth walls, creating a harmonious interplay of materials that defines the unique character of the featured assembly.
