The Onassis Foundation is organizing and funding a European Architectural Competition for the creation of a new city centre, a project centered around Panepistimiou Street.

The Onassis Foundation is organizing and funding this European Architectural Competition and the required studies in total, for the re-creation of the centre of Athens, with Panepistimiou Street serving as the backbone of this transformation. In this competition eligible candidates should be based in Member states of the EU, the European Economic Area (EEA) and other states that have signed conventions within the framework of the World Trade Organization.

The Competition will be realized in two stages. The first stage will be a competition of ideas, out of which a small number of proposals will be selected for the second stage of the competition, where the submitting firms will compete against each other for the selection of the winning proposal. For the preparation of this project, the Foundation is already collaborating with the Greek Ministries of Environment, Energy and Climate Change, and of Transport, Infrastructure and Networks, together with other organizations that will contribute significantly and will coordinate the project. For the implementation of the competition, the Onassis Foundation as sponsor of the project will be signing a legal agreement with the Ministries of Environment, Energy and Climate Change, and of Transport, Infrastructure and Networks, the Attiko Metro S.A., the Attica Region and the Municipality of Athens. The registration of the interested parties will be completed through the website www.rethinkathens.org.

The architectural competition raises the issue of quality of life, generating an interest on behalf of the public that will lead to a conversation on the new living conditions that will revitalize the centre of Athens in an attractive and sustainable way. It is the catalyst that will promote a debate on all kinds of issues and the creative fermentation of the views of citizens, involved experts, architects, artists, intellectuals and economists, to search for new things in the city’s old canvas.

The aim of the study that will be selected is the substantial change in the image, structure and function of the centre, resolving issues related to everyday life and upgrading the city to make it people-friendly and attractive, in order to compete with other major European Metropolises. Safety, the re enforcement of entrepreneurship and business, the re-inhabitance of the centre, the promotion of Greek cultural wealth and the introduction of quality in all aspects of everyday life, will form the basis of the study. Athens will be transformed into a vibrant 24 hour city.