THX Food Hub

Designed while working with DOMAIN Office.

The need for self-sustaining cities has become increasingly evident in recent years. Thessaloniki has been a major trade hub of the Balkan Peninsula since the era of the Romans due to its placement along the Via Egnatia and Thermaikos bay. However, growth in both its population and manufacturing sector has slowed in recent years, indicating a need to turn attention inward to developments that focus on higher quality of life, independence, and self-identity, while being more sustainable for the city and world.

The intent of this project is to transform a residual scar in the urban fabric into a culturally productive landscape of urban agriculture. Farming and agricultural production is typically understood as an ‘introverted’ process: one that is operated on private land and out of view. Through the injection of educational, cultural, commercial, and social programs, we will transform the site into a space of cultural identity, social integration, and civic engagement, making it the ‘extroverted’ face of agriculture and this facet of the city’s culture. The development will bring increased livability and productivity to the site and to the city of Thessaloniki while eliminating the bipolar notion of the rural-or-urban landscape.

Completed while working with DOMAIN Office

Type: Urban Design

Location: Thessaloniki, Greece

Status: Competition

Client: Alumil

Size: 400.000m2

Date: Summer 2020

Team: Ryan Oeckinghaus, Borjan Menkinoski, Filip Velkoski, Mitesh Dixit

Renders: Ryan Oeckinghaus

Collaborators: FORMAT - Structures