“Gabriel Charitos” or "100 Palm trees" square maintains a significant place in the articulation of the urban network of the city of Rhodes, as it is connected to both the city and the coastal region. This proposal to redesign 100 Palm Trees Square aims to connect the square with the urban network, i.e. the Aquarium to the North, the coastal region on the East-West axis, and with the centre of the city of Rhodes. In addition, it aims to incorporate the buildings on the perimeter of the square and organize it as part f a legible urban narrative.
The square should comprise part of a whole that includes various public space qualities, with the ultimate goal of hosting and adapting to changes in activities and uses. Finally, it aims to convert the square into a cultural pole. The square should be highlighted as a space of hyperlocal significance, and by extension become integrated into a network of points of the city geared towards urban-cultural tourism.
More specifically:
On the North-South axis, we strengthen the dynamic relationship between the aquarium and a cultural pole, connected to Nestorideio Melathron. A sequence of places, differentiated spatial entities, events, and happenings evolves along this axis: “the water plateau,” “the memory garden,” “the shelter of culture.” In order to emphasise the Aquarium-House of Culture axis, we propose a linear axis conceptually connected by a “thread of light.” It begins at the northern entrance, penetrates the three spaces, and terminates at the “torch of knowledge.”