While most of the cities in the world lack space, the city of Athens, an urban context severely hit by the financial crisis, has 30% of its building reserve empty. The city’s ground-floor network, once the steaming engine of its urban welfare, has now become a redundant landscape of empty pocket spaces. Within this pragmatic context of emerging decay, «TRACES OF COMMERCE» is organized as an initiative aiming to bring back to a state of activity a symbolic vacant space of Athens, «Stoa Emporon» (Arcade of Merchants). A dead zone in the heart of Athens city center which remained stagnant, with its small shops being empty, with no activity during the last decade. The vision of the initiative was the re-birth of this symbolic public space through the establishment of a productive platform with interdisciplinary synergies that opens up to the city. «TRACES OF COMMERCE» initiative first begun in May 2014 hosting 12 diverse creative collaborations who experimented on the dipole theme «old-new commerce» generating an environment of participatory activities with the engagement of local community agents into open collaborative workshops. The program launched its 2nd phase in December 2014 under the umbrella «NEW CREATIVE CELLS OF EXCHANGE». Following an open call for proposals, 10 shops of Stoa Emporon were assigned for free, for a period of 8 months, to creative start-ups and small entrepreneurial collaborations who transformed the empty shops of the arcade into a transparent laboratory for the exchange of knowledge.

1. ...Photo
Romance
TRACES OF COMMERCE:
AN URBAN INITIATIVE FOR THE
VACANT STOREFRONTS OF ATHENS
Traces of
C O M M E R C E

2. While most of the cities in the world lack space, the city of
Athens, an urban context severely hit by the financial crisis,
has 30% of its building reserve empty.

5. The city’s ground-floor network, once the steaming engine
of its urban welfare, has now become a redundant landscape
of empty pocket spaces.

8. UN-
EXPLOITED
BUILDING
STOCK
EXISTING
BUILDINGS CRISIS+ =
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=
COMMERCE
MULTIPLICITY
OF CREATIVE
INITIATIVES
OPPORTUNITY
FOR A NEW
TYPOLOGY OF
URBAN SPACE
INACTIVE
GROUND
FLOOR
INACTIVE
GROUND
FLOOR
CRISIS+
+
+
++
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+
+
+
+ +
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9. Within this pragmatic context of emerging decay,
«TRACES OF COMMERCE» was organized as an initiative aiming
to bring back to a state of activity a vacant public space of
Athens, «Stoa Emporon» (Arcade of Merchants).

10. in the center of
Athens, next to
Syntagma Square

11. at the
ground level
of the Social
Security Fund for
the Merchants

12. a public building
empty like
a ghost

13. a public gallery
consigned to
oblivion

14. that links to the
heart of Athens
commercial
triangle

15. 12 inactive
shops

16. with traces
from different
users

17. ©popaganda.gr
accumulated
bureaucracy

18. PHASE A
INHABITATION OF
THE ARCHADE

19. we opened
them step
by step

20. collecting
and archiving

21. re-using
disposable
raw material

22. we created
a central space
for support
(info point)

23. an open call
addressing young creative
collaborations

24. new creative
initiatives occupied
the gallery

25. discovering
new uses for
old materials

26. with open
collaborative
workshops for
the city

27. for young
and old
generations

28. Εργαστήριο “Το EMPORIKON”, Architecture for Humanity Athens
© Μπάμπης Γιαννικάκης
exploring old
techniques with
new citizens

29. Εργαστήριο “Εμπορικές Τοπικότητες”, Ομάδα ΑΣΤΥ
© Ομάδα ΑΣΤΥ
discovering
new urban
specificities

30. with a large
lunch table for the
neighborhood

31. open
screenings and
presentations

32. public talks

33. until midnight

34. © Beforelight
we brought light
into the gallery

35. re-manufacturing
old lighting
signages

36. we re-designed
the old empty shops

37. ..one by one

39. and on the
5th of June we
presented the
outcomes with a
big party!

41. PHASE B
• OPEN CALL TO YOUNG CREATIVE COLLABORATIONS
• EACH SHOP IS GIVEN FOR FREE INC. AMENITIES TO EACH
CREATIVE GROUP TO TEST THEIR IDEAS AND PRODUCTS
• IN EXCHANGE 2 WORKSHOPS FOR FREE PER MONTH

42. TRACES
OF
COMMERCE
2
NEW
CREATIVE
CELLS
OF EXCHANGE
PALISANDROS / FIXERS / #ADDNOISE MEDIA LAB /
THE ATHENS ZINE BIBLIOTHEQUE / COLLABORATORIUM /
DEBOP / ATHENS DISAPPEARING FUTURES / THE DOLL HOUSE
PHASE! & ORILA / CRAFTWORK IN PROGRESS (C.I.P.) /
FLOWER GIRLS «THE SHOP»
ΔΕΚΕΜΒΡΙΟΣ 2014 - ΙΟΥΝΙΟΣ 2015 | ΣΤΟΑ ΕΜΠΟΡΩΝ, ΣΥΝΤΑΓΜΑ
WWW.TRACESOFCOMMERCE.COM
PALISANDROS
FIXERS
#ADD NOISE MEDIA LAB
THE ATHENS ZINE BIBLIOTHEQUE
COLLABORATORIUM
DEBOP
ATHENS DISAPPEARING FUTURES
THE DOLL HOUSE
PHASE! & ORILA
FLOWER GIRLS "THE SHOP"
CRAFTWORK IN PROGRESS (C.I.P.)
TRACES OF COMMERCE 2
NEW CREATIVE CELLS OF EXCHANGE
DECEMBER 2014 - JUNE 2015 | ARCADE OF MERCHANTS, SYNTAGMA-ATHENS
WWW.TRACESOFCOMMERCE.COM

43. VoulisStreet
CRAFTWORK IN PROGRESS (CΪP)
MILLINERY & SILVERSMITH WORKSHOPPHASE! & ORILA
DIY MUSIC PRODUCTION
DEBOP
SOCIAL NETWORKING
PALISANDROS
CARPENTRY & MUSIC INSTRUMENTS
#ADDNOISE
MEDIA LABORATORY
THE ATHENS ZINE BIBLIOTHEQUE
FUNZINE LIBRARY
COLLABORATORIUM
TYPOGRAPHY & SILKSCREEN
FIXERS
3D PRINTING
TRACES OF COMMERCE
STREET VIEW INFO POINT
DISAPPEARING FUTURES (ATHENS)
URBAN RESEARCH & INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
DOLLHOUSE
PUPPET THEATER WORKSHOP
FLOWER GIRLS «THE SHOP»
ECOLOGY & PERFORMANCE
to Lekka Street
TRACES OF COMMERCE | NEW CREATIVE CELLS OF EXCHANGE
2

45. EXCHANGE RULE
A TOTAL OF
22 WORKSHOPS
FOR FREE PER MONTH

52. thank you!
Traces of
C O M M E R C E