It has been declared repairable. school building Diplarion V theatre square. The appointment comes as a result of the mobilization of the architectural authorities, as well as at the request of the company to change the use of the building to a hotel. Ministry of the Environment after positive proposals from the services, he approved the change in use, allowing for interior arrangements but no significant changes to the building.

The historic building is not public, but private – it belongs to the Hellenic Industrial Society (HBE). EBE was founded in 1892 by University of Athens professor Stefanos Kyparissos with the aim of promoting technical education, which did not exist at the time. As stated in the explanatory note of the Department of Protected Buildings of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the UBE initiative was widely recognized, and great figures of science and society of the time were either willing to teach on a non-profit basis or provide financial support. Among them is Aristides Diplaris, who bequeathed a significant fortune to the establishment of the school of the same name. “The first classes began in March 1893 with an unprecedented participation for that time of about 200 students and were held at the Varvakeyo Lyceum on Sunday afternoons and in the morning, since the students were all at work in the morning,” the explanatory note says. .

In 1928, VBE acquired a plot of land at 3, Theater Square. The building was opened in 1932. “During its operation, more than 65,000 masters of all specialties were trained (…). The first specialties of the EBE included all the productive professions of the day, such as cabinetmakers, carpenters, turners, carpenters, blacksmiths, machinists, plumbers, electricians, blacksmiths, bookbinders, photographers, shoemakers, lamp makers, watchmakers, jewelers, building contractors, masons and plasterers. (…),” the explanatory note says. “Remarkable professors taught at the school, such as the architects Cohn. Doxiadis (who was also its director), Dim. Pikionis, Arist. Proveleggios, artists K. Malamos, Ag. Asteriadis, while there were graduates important for the country’s economy, such as Alexopoulos, Varagis, Drakos, Mainas, Neonakis, Sirygos.

In recent years, the building has housed the Furniture Design Institute (in fact, the first Furniture Design Institute in Greece was established here in 1994), a center for continuing education, and also housed the Athens City Planning Department. In addition, on the lower level (actually under the school), on Menandru Street, various shops still operate.

The Department of Preserved Buildings report emphasizes that its integrity and memory must be protected with reversible interventions.

According to the text of the documentation submitted to the Ministry of the Environment by the Hellenic Section of the International Council for Industrial Heritage (TICCIH), the Architectural Heritage Council of the Hellenic Society for the Environment and Culture, Monumenta and NTUA Emeritus Professor Maros Kardamitsi-Adamis. The building has very remarkable architectural features. The building was designed by the architect Aristidis Iliadis, a graduate of the Higher School of Paris. “It follows the morphology of abstract classicism, it is characterized by the purity of the building volume, the simple shape of the facades and large metal openings for abundant lighting and good ventilation of the auditoriums. It is part of a complex of large-scale public buildings built around 1930, ”the documentation report says. It is worth noting that, according to the same source, this is one of the first buildings where the then new technology of reinforced concrete was applied.

The entities requesting the designation requested that the reuse of the building take into account, in addition to its architectural character, its original use and its character as an educational institution. This is because along with the request from the agencies, there was also a request to change the use of the building so that it could support four sections of hotel units. “Let’s not repeat the mistake of destroying the Varvakey Lyceum. I doubt that Ioannis Varvakis, while funding the Varvakeio Lyceum, ever imagined that his name would be associated with the food market, and of course Aristides Diplaris bequeathed his property with the aim of creating tourist units and even bad architecture”, letter from professor honorary member NTUA approves Maros Kardamici-Adami.

“Flexibility”

The Ministry of the Environment reacted positively to the declaration of the building, but did not impose any special restrictions on its further use. According to the Building Conservation Department’s rationale, “As city centers transform and need to change, there must be flexibility to adapt a building to new future uses, which will also allow it to be restored and upgraded, as noted. that it is private property, not public property, whose operator does not wish to continue as an educational institution at that location. With the possible forced use of the school, most of the legal and urban planning problems will arise, which will only lead to further obsolescence of the building. As the service clarifies, “in the case of a new use of all or part of a building with a functional division of its interior, its integrity and memory must be protected by applying reversible interventions.”

Following positive recommendations from the Regional Architecture Council and the New Monuments Service of the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of the Environment decided a few days ago to classify the building as an architectural monument. The Ministry followed the recommendation of its service by allowing the internal arrangement and division of the building (of 10,000 m2) into independent parts after a specific evaluation of the plans.

The reconstruction of the Theater Square continues

Important finds, including a mosaic floor, were discovered during the reconstruction of Theater Square. Of course, this development of events affects the schedule for the implementation of projects that started in the summer and, under normal conditions, would have been completed in two years.

The Theater Square owes its name to the Bucura Theater or Athens Theatre, which dominated the site a century and a half ago and was demolished in 1896-97. The reconstruction of the square is based on a study that won an architectural competition from the Association for Archaeological Monuments and Reconstruction (EAHA). The tender was held at the beginning of the last decade, but the project was never implemented. The Municipality of Athens collaborated with the architects of the award-winning study (Konstantina Karvunzi, Matteos Papavasileou) to update it.

In 2021, a tender was held to carry out the study (which is funded by 1.9 million euros from European funds). According to an earlier statement from the Municipality of Athens, the study is “an attempt, through modest design manipulations, to meaningfully connect today’s place with the historical background of the city and create the conditions of a quality space – the receiver of many and various individual actions and collective meetings.” The plan includes the creation of a central platform in front of the Diplario School at a lower level than the environment, which will function as a recreation area. “Inside the platform, the presence of a large olive tree in the center, combined with a circulating water channel, will act as a physical art installation alluding to Athenian mythology that establishes a relationship between the city and the ‘countryside’. The metal sculpture will be built inside the central plateau, where underground traces of the Haseki medieval wall are believed to exist. This sculpture will be illuminated at night and will function as an electronic chronograph.”

Construction work began in the summer, but did not take long … to stop. Archaeological excavations have revealed several important finds, including a mosaic. According to a recent statement from the Ministry of Culture, the architectural remains of a very extensive complex of late Roman buildings have been discovered at the site. Earlier excavations in neighboring properties have revealed architectural elements (brickwork, mosaic floors) that appear to belong to the same building complex. Archaeologists are working to discover mosaics with floral and geometric patterns. “Further examination of the remains is expected to provide evidence for identification, accurate chronological documentation and its possible appearance,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Given that earthworks are still ongoing, it is not yet easy to estimate how long the project will be delayed.