Operative Territories: Re-designing the landscapes of tourism

The growth of tourism in a global scale has economic, social and physical impacts, in turn creating both benefits and disadvantages; while it generates economic growth and raises the incomes of individuals and nations it can also have adverse impacts on host societies and their environments. The Operative Territories workshop faces these challenges and opportunities as they manifest themselves in Sithonia in Chalkidiki, Greece, in response to contemporary forms of tourism. Employing the tools of landscape architecture and urban design, ideas and design strategies produced seek to promote the development of sustainable tourism in Sithonia.

Operative Territories spanned the scales of spatial intervention from architecture, to the city, to the landscape. Students towards the end of their studies, recent graduates, and professionals in architecture, urban design and planning, and landscape architecture, worked alongside an international team of experts, hosted by the Municipality of Sithonia, repurposing the former primary school of Sikia as a studio space over 7 days. Strategic planning and design proposals were produced for 3 designated areas: Neos Marmaras, Azapiko and Porto Koufo. The workshop was supported by the postgraduate programme of Landscape Architecture of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
 

Workshop programme

Images from top:

1. “Beauty”, workshop flyer
2. Workshop group work, Sikia Primary School, Sithonia, Greece, May 2015
3. “As a tourist”, ideas sketching
4. Exploring alternatives, conceptual section and masterplan
5. Proposal for Porto Koufo, presentation boards 1/2
6. Proposal for Porto Koufo, presentation boards 2/2
7. Workshop team, Sikia Primary School, Sithonia, Greece, May 2015