“Cities are failing people by not providing imaginative spaces which nurture creative potential. Latraac is a necessity, not a luxury.”
Zachos Varfis is an architect from Greece who has spent the past years of his life creating a space to nourish skaters in Athens. The economic crisis has made spots like Latraac almost non-existent, meaning locals have had to take the city back into their own hands. We spoke to Zachos about the ups and downs of building Athens’ newest skate paradise.
Hey Zachos. First off, give us a little run down of what Latraac is and where it came from?
Latraac is an architectural/design initiative focused on transition skateboarding in Athens, Greece.
There was an absence of ramps in Greece, save for a few notable exceptions. I was very interested in transition architecture from a design perspective and with contemporary cad/cam tools this gave birth to the desire to develop a world class bowl in Athens. I choose to live and work in the downtown area and through a familiarity with the post industrialised spaces available, I wanted to combine this project with a social dimension, for which an accessible location was a must. After finding a space which fitted these parameters in terms of location and dimensions, the design was adjusted to the space’s features.
The Latraac space is 30m x 10m, so is 3-times as long as it is wide. The back half of the space was fitted with a ramp with two bowled out back corners, while the front section was left open, connecting with a garden space in the front. The ramp has a 2.30m transition (tailored to the width of the space) cut at 3 different heights, with a vert corner at 2.30m , a second corner at 1.90m and a fun section at 1.60m. A hip on the 1.60m section makes things more interesting and brings the transitions close to the property boundaries, where a 3m wide wall ride connects the hip and the vert section.
We have built a small 20sqm garden cafe, which will support the day to day as well as events. We want to be able to combine skateboarding with music and arts events and the idea of charging an entrance fee seemed like it would be against this inclusive community combining principle, so the decision was made to leave the ramp open on the garden side allowing for this interaction.
How did the reality of the project compare to your plans?
It has simultaneously been way beyond our expectation to see the full ambition of the project become reality, while also having taken a hell of a lot of hard work. A lot of people refer to it as a dream come true, but I think of it as confidence in an idea which then generates a willingness to put in the effort. I don’t think spaces like Latraac should be thought of as dreams. Cities are failing people by not providing imaginative spaces which nurture creative potential. It’s a necessity, not a luxury. Street skateboarding does this by default, but for transition skateboarding, it requires design.
I DON’T THINK SPACES LIKE LATRAAC SHOULD BE THOUGHT OF AS DREAMS
What issues did you find you ran into with the project? What did you learn from the process?
I think it’s safe to say we were incredibly naive initially regarding what setting it up would require. This of course was necessary, as awareness would have dissuaded us from beginning. Having a “just do it attitude” is great for inspirational memes, but securing real funding takes things to another level. We were very lucky in that respect and it was amazing to see people step up and show support.
What was the first trick that Latraac saw?
It would have been a pretty standard tail stall or a frontside carve.
Tell us at what stage Latraac is now and what’s next for the project?
The ramp is pretty much complete. We’re finishing the cafe and cleaning up the space and garden at the moment.
How do you propose to make Latraac survive in Athens now?
Our assumptions could fall flat on their face regarding whether people connect with the space. This is the reality of doing something experimental. We set up the conditions for something and the next stage of the project is to see how people respond to it on a creative and social level.
THIS IS THE REALITY OF DOING SOMETHING EXPERIMENTAL
We heard you’ve got some troublesome neighbours, how’ve they been throughout all this?
There were some incidents when I first rented the space where there was a confrontation with a rogue neighbour who felt their property interests might be threatened, but this misunderstanding was resolved through mutual compassion. We have received praise from the mayor and been visited by urban research labs as an initiative with a positive impact on a degraded neighbourhood. A large part of the space is an urban garden, so we like to believe that the local community will see that as beneficial.
Are you going to miss that pretty ramp skeleton? How will you treat the ramp?
We have photographed the framework extensively and Freitag (Swiss sustainable/fashion company) visited us this winter to shoot their fashion campaign, so we’re more than happy with the coverage the project received at that design stage. The ramp surface now reflects the work that has gone underneath and being able to skate it is more than enough reward against the absence of the photogenic framework.
How many people ended up helping and who would you like to thank?
My business partner and reluctant carpenter Alex has made superhuman efforts putting up with me as a project manager/slave-driver. Beyond that there are just too many people to mention. It would be a chunky paragraph of names for sure and it has (honestly) been a privilege to be able to collaborate with so many people from all walks of life. Without a doubt, it would have not been possible to get here without their support, which considering the circumstances in Greece at the moment has been extraordinary.
THERE WAS A CONFRONTATION WITH A ROGUE NEIGHBOUR
Now Latraac has reached this stage, what’s next for you and the crew?
As I said earlier, we set up the conditions and are looking forward to seeing what is generated on a creative and social level. Beyond that, personally I have learned a lot and hope to be able to apply this experience on new projects which may or may not be related to skateboarding.
Well thanks, Zachos. This is an inspirational project, and we wish you luck for the future!
