The New Omonia
Square: What tha!!!????
To describe the new design of Omonia Square as a tribute to minimalism is like calling a pile of horse manure a tribute to horses. Maybe the architects feel that the people of Athens are not sophisticated or visionary enough to understand their design which can best be described as a concrete surface, a concrete wall, a weird metal sculpture and some boards. I have walked in the square, I have photographed it and I have visited it at different hours and seasons and I still don't get it.
One thing all Athenians agree on. Either the design was flawed or it's execution was flawed or the whole thing is a joke, or it's a test to see how much Athenians can take. This is supposed to be one of the showplaces of modern Athens and it looks like it was transported here intact from Albania in the fifties. Maybe because of the large number of Albanian refugees that hang around between Omonia and the train station the architects wanted to create an environment they would feel at home in. But let's give the Albanians some credit for having better taste and realize they did not come to Athens to be reminded of the Hoxha regime.
There are some good things about the square. If you have a skateboard you will know what they are. I don't have a skateboard. If you are the kind of person who dislikes trees you will like the square. There are none. If you like large metal sculptures with dangling wires then you may like the square, or the part of it with the large metal sculpture with dangling wires.
Another question about the square is the length of time it took to build it. This took a year? If I had three hard working Albanian's and a cement mixer I could have built it in a week though I would probably have used less cement and more trees. When the square was unveiled most people's reaction was "Yeah, but when is it going to be finished?"
Where are the fountains? Can we get the glassman back? Who approved these plans?
I have a design for Omonia square. I got it from one of the most beautiful squares in Europe at the turn of the century. With the Olympics coming up and all the eyes of the world upon Athens can't we show them something better than this pointless tribute to Eastern European industrialization? Maybe somewhere with trees and flowers and benches and maybe a fountain and a pond. Isn't there enough concrete in Athens?