Seasonal abandonment of Mediterranean islands. A design proposal for Antiparos in the Cyclades, Greece

The Mediterranean basin is amongst the worlds most visited tourist destinations globally, with the islands being major attractors of historical, cultural and natural importance. The prevailing tourism trend of leisure holiday concentrates most - if not all - tourist activity in the months of summer, leading to high levels of seasonality on the islands. Seasonality refers to concentrated activity during a certain period in the year and its is followed by a number of consequences not only to the local economies, but also to social infrastructures and services on the island destinations. The focus of this analysis is the consequence of the abandonment due to seasonality on the island of Antiparos in the Cyclades, Greece. Antiparos is a small island that belongs geographically in the Cyclades, and administratively in the South Aegean Region which is composed solely by islands. Antiparos is a popular destination with high economic reliance on tourism, that remains almost completely vacant from such activity in the period between October and May. What causes the abandonment in the low tourist season is the lack of economic activity and slowing down of services, that lead to seasonal migration of the local population following the absence of tourists. The purpose of this research is to understand seasonality the contexts of the Mediterranean islands, the Cyclades and Antiparos, as well as the tourism dynamics, in order to develop a design proposal that tackles seasonality in Antiparos. The approach for the development of the design proposal takes into consideration strategies found in literature and the valuable assets present in the natural and cultural landscape of Antiparos. Another layer to the project refers to contemporary lifestyle requirements and the need for an escape from the city, made possible by technological development and growing culture of remote working. For the purpose of this research, two photographic surveys were conducted on the island - one in the peak and one in the off-peak season. Testimonies by local residents and the Vice Mayor of Antiparos, Artemis Triantafyllos contributed greatly in developing a better understanding on life of the island without tourism and efforts made to address seasonality at the regional and local level. The project is divided into the design strategy and on site application. The design strategy is the approach to seasonality, and is looking at special forms of tourism and the cultural and natural resources of Antiparos to promote year round activity on the island. In physical terms, the design strategy translates as a micro urban environments, called ‘Activation Hubs’ offering social infrastructure and program that focuses on local culture and history and contemporary tourist needs. The design strategy is then applied on two sites, one within the dense built fabric of the main Village of Antiparos, and one in the low density settlement of Agios Georgios. The on site application aims to examine how the hub adapts to various urban settings and different service requirements. The intention of the project is to propose a design solution that is a spatial interpretation of existing strategies and suggestions towards alleviating seasonality, applied within a specific island context. The infrastructures proposed for year round activation could be reinterpreted and appropriated to other Mediterranean island contexts.

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