Another setback for Goulandris collection July 4, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in Arts Museums.add a comment
The ill-fated Museum was almost constructed in the area around the National War Museum twice, but plans fell through both times.
Bad news accompanied the recent opening of the Andre Masson exhibition at the Goulandris Museum of Contemporary Art on Andros island. The Museum’s Director, Kyriakos Koutsomallis, announced that plans to house the spectacular art collection of Basil and Elise Goulandris in Mets area, Athens, have fallen through, despite the fact that Environment and Public Works Minister Giorgos Souflias had announced detailed plans for the new venue last October. The collection features works by El Greco, Georges Braques, Van Gogh, Joan Miro and Marc Chagall, among others.
The story started in 1992, when a building plot on Rigillis Street was chosen. After various delays, plans came to a halt when archaeologists stumbled upon the Lyceum on that spot. In 1998, the possibility of another site in Rizari Street came up and after a new cycle of legal delays plans for temporary housing in Mets were announced. Now that this has fallen through as well, according to Koutsomallis, the state will designate a new venue soon, possibly in the city center. According to the Museum people, architect I.M. Pei’s refusal to have his plan for the Museum building implemented anywhere outside the city center poses a problem.
Responsibility seems to weigh on the Greek state, but also on the Museum’s administration. As Koutsomallis admitted, it was a mistake from the start to expect the state to come up with a venue. Maybe after 15 years of continuous problems, it is about time the Board of Directors became more realistic and sought its own solutions. If the next plot considered by the state also proves unusable, for whatever reason, the entire issue will fall to pieces. The recent example of the Niarchos Foundation, which managed to secure Faliron’s former horse-racing track with quick and speedy negotiations, should set a precedent.
Orthodox nations agree on holy alliance July 4, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in Religion.add a comment
Culture Minister Giorgos Voulgarakis yesterday joined envoys of the overwhelmingly Orthodox nations of Bulgaria, Cyprus, Russia and Ukraine in signing a pact aimed at boosting the Christian roots of European culture.
In a statement signed after talks at Athens’s Byzantine and Christian Museum, the officials pledged to “highlight those forces which will contribute to European cohesion, based on common moral values and respect for diversity.”
The five nations are members of the Interparliamentary Assembly of Orthodoxy, founded by rightist MP Stelios Papathemelis. The pact called for “enhancing the cultural elements of Orthodoxy.” It also praised the Orthodox Church’s activities in “contributing to stability, peace and appeasement.”
“Orthodoxy is a stance and way of life, linking religious theory and faith with practice,” Voulgarakis said.
A new ferry line July 4, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in Transport AirSeaLand.add a comment
A new ferry line connecting Thessaloniki with the northern Aegean islands of Lemnos and Mytilene was inaugurated yesterday.
The ferry route that will help connect the northern half of the country will be run by ferry operator Saos Ferries and will operate twice a week, every Tuesday and Thursday.
Glyfada takes back beaches July 4, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in Architecture Infrastructure.add a comment
The Public Real Estate Corporation (KED) yesterday signed an agreement with the Municipality of Glyfada, south of Athens, for the redevelopment of a major part of the coastline into a recreation area.
The Municipality of Glyfada, in southern Athens, was awarded control of its beaches yesterday as part of an ambitious plan aimed at helping local officials develop the beach area. KED, the Public Real Estate Corporation, signed over control of five beaches, stretching over 2 kilometers, to the Municipality.
According to sources, a project involving a new pathway for pedestrians and cyclists along the tramline in Glyfada will be tendered off to a private company in a plan expected to be completed by the end of next year. An initial project study is expected to be completed in about a month.
Deputy Finance Minister Petros Doukas was present at the signing yesterday and said the changes will help to provide an improved leisure area for residents. According to the Deputy Minister, the plan also involves banning the operation of nightspots in the area.
EU new rules on duty-free air transit to be in effect soon July 4, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in News Flights, Tourism, Transport AirSeaLand.add a comment
New rules to end thousands of liters of duty-free alcohol and perfume being poured down the drain daily at European Union airports have been agreed to by EU transport officials, the European Commission said yesterday.
The industry said millions of euros had been wasted because passengers with transit connections in the EU were forced to hand over bottles of vodka, whisky and other items to airport officials due to differing rules on aviation security.
“The new rules have been agreed upon and are just awaiting the approval of the European Parliament, which will happen as soon as possible. This should come into force very quickly,” a spokesman for EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot said. “We hope this will now help to solve the problems experienced by both industry and the traveling public.”
Regulations requiring travelers to carry small containers of liquids or gels in sealed plastic bags that are no larger than one liter were agreed to by the 27-nation bloc, the USA, Canada, Norway and Switzerland last November. However, EU airport officials said passengers who bought liquids at duty-free shops outside these countries and made a European stopover before their final destination did not comply with those rules.
For example, someone traveling from Tokyo to London via Frankfurt would be forced to hand over any duty-free liquids bought at the Japanese airport before boarding again in Germany.
Under the new rules, EU countries will allow passengers to transit with goods bought at airports that comply with standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the UN agency for international air travel.
ICAO set new regulations for tamper-evident bags and security for airport retail supply chains in March. Under the new accord, EU transport officials will also monitor and inspect airports to check whether they meet the ICAO standards.
The European Travel Retail Council (ETRC), which represents Europe’s duty-free stores, said duty-free sales worldwide had fallen 40 percent since November. It described yesterday’s announcement as “big step forward.”
Household consumers to choose their power supplier July 4, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in Energy.add a comment
Domestic consumers will soon be able to choose who supplies them with electricity, as the Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE) yesterday announced the framework for the full liberalization of the electricity supply market, following the European Union’s opening up of the electricity and gas market last Sunday.
While major corporate consumers, the so-called “choosing customers”, have already been able to choose their supplier, until now domestic consumers had no other option but the state-run Public Power Corporation (PPC). The new framework means consumers will be able to submit an application to PPC, which is also the network operator, in order to choose an alternative supplier. Applications will be activated after this summer.
“It is obvious that the purpose of the market liberalization is for new investment both in power production and in transmission and distribution networks in the most effective way possible, so that the final consumer enjoys the greatest benefit,” said Michalis Karamanis, RAE’s President, forecasting significant developments in the electricity sector.
The new rules on the opening up of the market clarify details about the charging of consumers, the access by consumers and alternative suppliers to data concerning consumption, while providing for the installation of meters by private suppliers so that each consumer’s charges can be precisely calculated for their specific consumption.
RAE believes that the inclusion of third-party charges, e.g. local rates, TV license, etc, in electricity bills should remain a prerogative of PPC, while alternative suppliers will be able to issue their own bills. However, RAE proposes that in order to accelerate the liberalization process, suppliers could agree with PPC for the latter to issue their bills until June 30, 2008 for a certain consideration to be agreed.
“The incentive for the modernization of networks will be the actual or potential entry of third suppliers to the market,” said Karamanis. He expects that liberalization will enhance the reliability and flexibility of production capacity and persuade PPC to replace existing lignite plants with new, higher-performance installations.
He echoed a call by European Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, who on Sunday urged consumers to make the most of the power market liberalization: “I encourage European consumers to take advantage of the freedom to choose their energy suppliers. A functioning EU energy market can only be obtained if consumers participate in the market actively,” he said.
Hydra island > residential areas in danger July 4, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in Architecture.add a comment
Lack of town plan and demarcation of private and public spaces add to development pressures > The natural and residential environment of Hydra is changing due to pressure from tourism and the islanders are concerned.
The natural and residential environment of Hydra is changing due to pressure from tourism. The island does not have a legally established town plan, the limits of residential areas are not strictly defined, and neither are the borders between public and private property. No open spaces have been delineated.
So applications for permits to build housing complexes on different parts of Hydra are often approved, to the detriment of the island.
These were the issues raised at a press conference held Wednesday by the Hellenic Society for the Protection of the Environment and Cultural Heritage on the threat to the protected settlement of Hydra.
Eleni Maistrou, architect and assistant professor at the National Technical University of Athens, explained the threat: “There is no overall policy for the protection of sustainable development on the island, nor is there the town-planning legislation that should come from cooperation between the jointly responsible Ministries of Culture and the Environment.” She added that although special environmental studies had been drafted and approved in 1989, they were never passed into law.
Pressure for housing development has grown continuously in recent years, mainly for tourist accommodation and summerhouses, which could transform the island into primarily a holiday destination that functions for just two months a year, like so many other places in Greece.
In late 2006, the Culture Ministry issued a ruling that allowed the construction of two-story houses at Avlaki in an area that had been designated a forest by the forestry authority. Hydra has been listed as an archaeological site as well as an active residential area, which entails a ban on actions that alter its character, the urban fabric and disturb the relations of buildings to outdoor spaces.
According to attorney Vassilis Dorovinis, the Vice President of the Hellenic Society, the fifth department of the Council of State issued an order suspending construction work on the two-story houses.
The new settlements often only appear to comply with rules about retaining elements of traditional Hydriote architecture, using aluminium instead of wooden windows and door frames, for example.
“The ones most to blame are the architects who design them,” commented Panayiotis Tetsis, artist, emeritus professor of fine arts and Athens Academy member.
grhomeboy
