What has been done on a small scale in Center for Asia Minor Studies in Plaka, this is what theoretically can save Athens. A new garden was born, joining the existing courtyard space at the back of the historical building of the Asia Minor Research Center, creating a small paradise and a model of urban prosperity on two levels. The result justifies the idea of ​​synergy.

The Center for the Study of Asia Minor is located in one of the majestic tiled houses. The year 1842 is written on the balustrades of the balcony. The house is from the first period. The entrance is on Kydafinaion Street, opposite the church of Sotira and next to the house of Konstantinos and Ioanna Tsatsos. What is left of our time is now added to this core of Athenianism, in the best case, as a garden, invisible from Kidafinaion, but visible from the back street of Konstantinou Tsatsu (former Peta), is the “landscape” of Attic Eden. Created by landscape architect Ellie Pangalos.

Turning an abandoned lot into a model garden sets an example of flexibility and trust.

The extension to Konstantinou Tsats, which now gives birth to this garden on two levels, was made on the territory of the Ministry of the Interior. The idea, initiative and implementation belong to Kostas Apostolidis of Raycap, who is a member of the Board of Directors. from the Center for the Study of Asia Minor, a man with a large and quiet work in his native city of Drama, and also in Athens. The implementation of the idea to turn an abandoned site into a model garden, which will be admired by residents and passers-by, is an example of flexibility and trust, as the Ministry of Agriculture is ready to provide the site with its property for this purpose. The site, and now the garden, remains the property of the ministry.

The transformation is exciting. Plants and trees, selected one by one, coexist with the species that existed in the courtyard of the Center. A new microclimate has already been born. And at the same time, a contemplative mood is born for the land of Attica, for the boundless and untapped potential of nature in the city. Ellie Pangalou waits for the garden to “link” as the plants grow and tangle in the fence towards Constantinou Tsatsu, where a neutral grid is wisely chosen that does not clash with the Art Deco railings of the beautiful opposite buildings. interwar period.

The partitions have been painted, the floor is waterproof, and being in this Athenian garden, you might reasonably wonder why Athens isn’t full of such initiatives. In this case, unlike the “pocket parks” of the municipality, the new garden strengthens one of the country’s major centers of research and culture. It complements the particularly important project of the Asia Minor Research Center, which now has a larger and more beautiful space for outdoor events. Professor Paschalis Kitromilidis, who was with us on the trip, will have every reason to be pleased.