1st Public consultation for Cooling Havens

The first public consultation of the Cooling Havens project was held with strong attendance on Tuesday, 23 September, in the afternoon, at the 56th Gymnasium of Athens, in the Ampelokipoi area.

Objective: the creation of a Cooling Haven in the 7th Municipal Community of Athens, specifically at Laconia Square.

The meeting was coordinated by the Municipality of Athens, through the Deputy Mayor for Climate Governance and Social Economy, Nikos Chrysogelos, and organized by Impact Hub Athens. It began with a presentation of the project and continued with a presentation by Dimitra Theohari, Managing Director of the landscape architecture office Ensphere, who analyzed the initial intervention designs for Laconia Square.

Her presentation highlighted both the challenges and the opportunities of the site, placing particular emphasis on nature-based flood protection solutions, while also referring to the partial unveiling of the Hadrianic Aqueduct.

Participants—including residents, local stakeholders, and associations—were divided into groups and exchanged ideas on how the square could be transformed into a cool, resilient, and sustainable public space.