Uploaded on 2014-10-14 by ioan_bou

This photo is taken from a balcony of a block of flats (called in Greek “polykatoikia”) looking down to light well (called “fwtagwgos”). This block of flats is located in the center of the city Athens, in Exarchia, and it is a common picture of the built environment of Athens. We see balconies of small proportions organized around this light well. We can definitely make the observation that this space (the light well) is not really used by the residents and the balconies facing the well are somehow neglected-except for a few cases. Thinking about the invisible information given from this picture, I would say that it gives us a hint about the way the blocks of flats are organized in the city of Athens. This light well is an example of a useless space which is not designed as a live shell of the block and it is not meant to be used by the residents as a public spot. These kind of underutilized fenced spaces are the result of the attempt to build every square meter available ignoring the bad effects on the residents lives. I believe that a close look and analysis of these spaces could give us the knowledge for improving them and making them a vital part of the blocks and lead to important outcomes about the relation between the public and the private spaces of the blocks and the city as a whole. In addition, we can make an observation about the social economical classes that live in the apartments that have a view of the well. It is certain that the apartments looking to the street are meant for economically higher classes in relation with the ones we see in the picture. So this could lead us to an analysis of the social, economical and proprietorial relations connected to the urban space. [1]: http://i1290.photobucket.com/albums/b524/architect_19/IMG_0960_zps0f4dceca.jpg