On March 10, 2015, the Town council of Keratsini-Drapetsona, had to take a very important decision for the history and the future of our city. In a room full of entities, collectivities and citizens, the resolution of the municipal authority “Allos Dromos” was approved by majority, among other things it asked for : the adaptation of the General Urban Plan and the Regulatory plan of Athens, so that the area of Lipasmata would be declassified from an industrial zone, the expropriation of the land that appeared to be owned by the National Bank of Greece, the immediate proclamation of a national architecture competition for the plan of reconstruction and the immediate termination of any procedures for the operation of an OilOne oil refinery.

The town council authorized a ready plan adapting the Regulatory plan of Athens.

The fight was not easy. The Municipal Authority had to fight small and big battles, to learn how to stay resilient during the war it was receiving from the business interests of the area and to overcome along with society the constant obstacles put during its attempt.

The multiple benefits that emerged vindicated that decision. There is a constant battle and demands for the public management of the Lipasmata space. By its side, the Municipal authority has the society of Keratsini and Drapetsona who hugged and supported the fight for Lipasmata from the very beginning.

The municipal authority of “Allos Dromos”, claimed and managed to take historical decisions for the life and the future of thousands of citizens of the municipality of Keratsini and Drapetsona as well as the wider area of Piraeus , when various other interests wanted to design Formula tracks and allow the installation of oil refineries next to our homes.

The legislative regulation and the amendment designed by the municipal authority, which was projected and promoted by the SYRIZA government, frustrated the plans of the oligarchs and businessmen for the reconstruction of the area.

With that regulation :

a) the coastal front of 640 decares was given to the residents of the area and all the western Piraeus and their free access to the sea is restored,
b) the ability expected by the law 4277/14 of the co-government of Samaras-Venizelos for the Regulatory Plan of Athens-Attica, to install at the area industrial, manufacturing, and other services that would alter and burden the physical environment and the beauty of the coastal front of Drapetsona was canceled,
c) the total surface for construction was significantly limited, with low building coefficient, ensuring at the same time unstructured spaces for communal use and pleasure,
d) ensured the efficient access to means of consistent trajectory for the connection of Piraeus with the municipality of Keratsini – Drapetsona,
e) with the uses of green, pleasure, education, health, sports, and culture, the legislative regulatory suggests a strategic interference for the quality upgrade of the Municipality of Keratsini – Drapetsona and all the western Piraeus.

Meanwhile, the municipal authority, with the participation of lots of people, organized informational actions and afforestations at the abandoned space of Lipasmata.

Under the decision of the Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and the government of Syriza, the coastal zone of the former Lipasmata of Drapetsona was excluded from the contract of concession of the Public Service to the Piraeus Port Authority. In July 2016, at the Parliament, all parties (except from the Golden Dawn) voted in favor of a respective regulation for the definite concession of the portal zone of Lipasmata from Piraeus Port Authority to the Municipality of Keratsini – Drapetsona, a land of almost 86,000 square meters from the Krakaris pier up to the Drapetsona bay.

Only a few months after the concession, at the Municipality of Keratsini – Drapetsona, there are machines and crew from the Municipality already working on the remodeling of the area from the part of Drapetsona.

At the communal space of Lipasmata, according to the OGG 143/Α/09-11-2015, for land usage, in favor of the interests and accomodation of the citizens and according to the decision under number 168/2017 of the Town Council, related to the “Approval of constructions at a communal space at Lipasmata according to the article 20 of the New Building Regulation”, there have been implemented culture operations, with the building of the open-air theatre, and the installations that go with it, sports operations, with the building of open-air courts, pleasure operations with the building of the canteen and the space where there are tables and chairs and green, with the organized afforestation, with making the area more beautiful and esthetically upgrading it, with the equipment and the safety and generally with the constructions that helped the aim of these spaces come true.

Specifically, according to the program of the Municipal Authority, they were immediately built:

• An open theatre.
• Facilities supporting the installations, like dressing rooms and WC for men, women, and disabled people.
• A football pitch 5×5.
• A basketball court.
• A tennis court.
• Changing rooms for the people practicing sports.
• Paths for walking and jogging.
• A bicycle path.
• A parking lot for cars and motorbikes, almost of 700 spaces.
• A canteen to serve people’s needs.
• Along with the above installations, they also started the first phase of the afforestation of 1,500 trees and plants of low vegetation, something that would help the local society and improve the quality of life of the residents.

From a construction aspect, the above spaces, like the canteen, WC for men, women, and disabled people and the guardhouse are prefabricated and temporary buildings. The ground was shaped up properly, while at the same time roads are built and the necessary leaning levels for easy access of the spaces from disabled people.

The above projects at the area of Lipasmata, of the Municipality of Keratsini – Drapetsona, contributed to the functional and esthetic upgrade of the communal space of the area, while the above built installations and the future project, have been a characteristic mention of the city and the wider area.

The aim was and still is an esthetically upgraded environment with various options of operations and activities. Τhe result will be the upgrade of the area and the townscape, for the satisfaction of the residents and the visitors of the area, not only visually but also productively. The point of the project is the wider upgrade of a specific area and is about the whole city.

The projects and the constructions at the Lipasmata area were organized and supervised by the architect George Andreakakis and were based on the architecture competition of ideas, that was conducted by the Attica Region, in collaboration with the Municipality of Keratsini – Drapetsona, and interested lots of study offices (21 participations). The 1st award was given to Ioanna – Io Karydi and her team.

The Regional Vice Governos of Piraeus G. Gavrilis at the presentation of the results, referred to the history and the phases that the issue of “Lipasmata” has gone through until the achievement, with successive legislative interferences, of establishing mild operations at the area and giving the coastal front to the Municipality. He emphasized the priority that the Regional Authority gives to the significance of the remodeling of the area to overturn the actual environmental image of the wider area and to contribute to a new relationship between the society and the public – communal spaces. Finally, he highlighted that the Attica Region has already included in its budget the necessary appropriation to purchase or expropriate the tracts of land in the Lipasmata area.

The mayor of Keratsini – Drapetsona Chr. Vrettakos, speaking about the architecture competition, underlined that “it resulted from many battles of many years given by the people of the city for reusing the space, for purposes friendlier to the people and the environment”. The mayor of the city highlighted that “this wealth of ideas and proposals that are attested today, should be enriched and should keep pace with the proposals of the Local Government administration and end with a context for the remodeling of the area, that will be discussed with the local society, will be enriched with more proposals and will begin to be implemented”.

Festival by the sea

Thursday 15 of June 2017 will go down in history as the first day that the citizens of Drapetsona and Keratsini, in an organized and coordinated way under the planning of the Municipal Authority, came in-mass and watched and entertained themselves in a concert that took place at the new municipal installations, built by the Municipality of Keratsini – Drapetsona, at the first Festival by the sea. It was the first day of the new period of real exploitation, implementation of goals and conquest of the Remodeled space.

The Municipal Authority loyal to its commitments and following on from the interferences that took place the previous summer, continued with the interferences and the work at the space of Lipasmata in favor of the citizens. 
The acceptance of all the work, the constructions, and the events of the previous summer from thousands of citizens who visited the Multifunctional Park of Lipasmata, stimulated the continuance of the project with an even more intensive pace also at the rest of the area that was conceded from the government to the Municipality of Keratsini – Drapetsona.

With the design of the Technical Services of the Municipality, with the great effort shown by the workers of the Municipality and according to the proposals that came up from the architecture competition, that summer another piece of land, excluded from the citizens for decades, will be given to the citizens, now for them to use it for sports, culture, and pleasure. The attempts of various big and small interests that ravaged the space and created conditions of exclusion of the area from its citizens, did not discourage the municipal authority but, made it even more decisive to create a city more humane, with resources for the citizens, with free access to the sea, free facilities and installations for sports, culture, and pleasure.

The setup works continued at the Krakaris area connecting the south part of the Multifaction park of Fertilizers with its north part.

The area situated at the east from the Krakaris pier and the conveyor belt of the factory of the Greek Anonymous Company of Chemical Products and Fertilizers (G.A.C.C.P.F. – Lipasmata of Drapetsona) and extended to the west up to the Monument of Themistocles – Lighthouse was remodeled for pleasure and sports uses. 


Specifically :

•  Playground
•  Canteen
• Facilities supporting the installations, like WC for men, women, and disabled people, guardhouse, parking lots for cars and bicycles.

From a construction aspect, the above spaces, like the canteen, WC for men, women, and disabled people and the guardhouse are prefabricated and temporary buildings. The ground was shaped up properly, while at the same time roads are built and the necessary leaning levels for easy access of the spaces from disabled people.

The choice of the above operations aims at attracting all groups of people, from the younger ones to the older ones. The playground space was created according to the in-effect standards of security offering appropriate conditions of usage for the children and their companions. The canteen spaces along with the open-air spaces where tables and chairs were set, as well as the widening of the walkway from tree meters (3m.) to eight meters (8m.) along the coastline, created spaces of relaxation and walking for people of all ages. At that elongated platform, seats – flower boxes were placed from one side with same spaces between them, offering shading, relaxation time and view of the sea. Additionally, the area is traversed by a walkway and a bicycle path connecting the wider area of Lipamata. The preexisting area was boosted with organized planting, upgrading esthetically the surrounding space, and creating shading conditions for the summer months.

Lipasmata 2018:

The Festival by the sea comes back! This is the second year for the Festival by the sea, an admission free event organized by the Municipality of the Keratsini – Drapetsona. By the chimneys, at the emblematic former industrial zone of Drapetsona an institution has been established “to help us dream away”.

CONSTUCTIONS AT THE SILO AREA

The area that includes the building installations of the Silo and the Chimney was chosen to host all the operations for culture, sports, and pleasure. Specifically, they were built:

• 1 sand volleyball court
• Changing rooms
• An open-air space for concerts
• A canteen
• Facilities supporting the installations, like WC for men, women, and disabled people.

For the easy inclusion of the new remodeling of the surrounding area and building installations at the preexisting industrial scenery, materials such as metal, wood, and concrete were used.

The choice of combining three different types of operations aims to offer a variety of activities attracting groups of people of different interests. The aim of the design is the harmonic and functional combination of all the operations giving easy access to the sea and giving prominence to the preservable buildings of the Silo and the chimney stack. Paths and plateaus traverse the area creating the necessary connections and spaces of self-discharge between the various services offered. The sand volleyball court creates a unity that belongs to the sports section and is mostly addressed to the youth. The open-air concert venue was situated close to the coast and was connected to the platforms that offer access and a view of the sea. The canteen will operate together with the concert venue, giving life to the surrounding space in front of the building of the Silo. A walkway and a bicycle path traverse the area and connect it with the already built-up constructions.

The general philosophy of the above remodeling is integrated smoothly in the general layout of the 1st Award of the Architecture Competition that was implemented for the total area of 640 decares, and it does not affect the totality of the remodeling.

Lipasmata 2019:

The Festival by the Sea comes back! This is the third year for the Festival by the Sea, an admission free event organized by the Municipality of the Keratsini – Drapetsona. By the chimneys, at the emblematic former industrial zone of Drapetsona an institution has been established “to help us dream away”.