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We should make a business centre in Athens whether on the coast or in the mountains to allow the city play the role we believe it is destined for its specific features, says Evangelos Lirudias - Chairman of the Union of Architects in Greece. He talks about the decline and rebirth of the historic centre of Athens, overcoming the crisis in the construction sector and the profession of architects in Greece and the effects of its "opening" in an interview for grreporter.info.

The role of Athens as a business centre on the Balkans
 
What I think is important is that Athens with its special characteristics should play the role of a business centre on the Balkans. Athens is a world centre. International assessments rated it the 32^nd capital and it should take higher position - to become attractive, to host international business meetings organized by African and Balkan countries and the Middle East. Syrian and Jordanian businessmen tell me to meet in Istanbul because it is easier for them to take a visa for Turkey and this is inappropriate. These are measures that will directly influence the function of Athens. There is no business centre in Athens - central business district, because there is the historic centre in Athens and we can not build skyscrapers to close the view of the Parthenon. So, the policy we follow is conservative, aiming to keep the historic centre. However, there should be a business centre, whether near the coast or in the mountains. These are decisions that should be made if you care about your city and if you have a concept to give the city the role it should play. Bulgarians are in a better position than us now because they have believed in Europe and pursue their goals...
 
The historic centre of Athens ...
 
Each historic centre has a life cycle. Each city goes through boom and decline. Typically, the cycle of a residential neighbourhood lasts 30 years. If it has been in decline for 30 years then it enters a cycle of improving the quality of life. Various investments in the historic centre of Athens have been made already. The buildings were purchased at very low prices and a comprehensive plan is necessary through which the state but also the life cycle will give a message to investors. Ultimately, economic interests determine the improvement in the quality of life in a region and change the image of it.  Some businessmen who have proposed real estate to raise the quality of life in the historic centre were promoted on SKY TV. We witnessed such a decline in the Athens centre not for the first time. It was so scruffy that you could not step there for the last time in 1973. All those most notorious had moved to Plaka. There were bars everywhere and all the residents were evicted. The same phenomenon repeated in the Psiri neighbourhood later - all who lived there or had small shops left the neghbourhood and it became a centre of entertainment. A situation intolerable for some people had occurred in combination with the presence of economic immigrants but there have been some opportunities for investors at the same time. When this story is over the government should make interventions and decisions of public interest that could push and release developments to improve the quality of life in the historic centre. This is called back to the city movement and it takes place after the flow of residents to the suburbs have been completed. A city centre usually is in decline because the majority of residents move to the suburbs, which is related to an economic boom – residential blocks have been built in Halandri, Maroussi and Dionysos. But young people want to return to the city centre now and the state should act to create a space of housing, youth life, entertainment, education, so that it corresponds to the level of a historic city like Athens.