Project description

The project ‘Hidden cultural identities that reappear through water networks’ (CULTURAL H.ID.RA.N.T) aims to re-introduce Hadrian’s Aqueduct from the Roman period to the contemporary urban life of Halandri in Athens in order to raise awareness of local cultural and natural heritage and contribute to citizens’ wellbeing.

MedINA is collaborating with the Municipality of Halandri, the project coordinator, together with six other partners: EYDAP S.A., the Panteion University Institute of Regional Development, the architectural and urban planning company Thymio Papayannis and Associates Inc. (TPA), the collaborative design team Commonspace Co-op, the “Ohi Paizoume” (UrbanDig Project) team and the Ephorate of Antiquities of Eastern Attica.

Through a series of interrelated activities, the Cultural H.ID.RA.N.T. project will strengthen mnemonic dimensions in urban public space, contribute to the conservation and cultivation of local cultural wealth, enhance walkability and access to quality green spaces, and focus on a peripheral municipality that suffers from weak heritage branding in comparison to the historic centre of Athens.

MedINA is in charge of creating a local archive that will shed light on the tangible and intangible aspects of Hadrian’s Aqueduct as a common source of heritage in the area, together with an online platform that will host the archive and tell its story in a simple and meaningful way in an attempt to engage residents and other users alike. As a final step, the archive will pass into the hands of the local community through a series of events that will facilitate its management, promotion and expansion. In addition, a local HIDRANT Festival will be collectively organised in order to promote and celebrate Hadrian’s Aqueduct and its heritage value as an integral part of the municipality’s history.