Keramikos Metro Station

What I can see

It is one of the most spacious stations in the centre of Athens with granite as the main cladding material. The first level (entrances -exits) is naturally lit by the large circular roof opening on the east side and a corresponding smaller square opening on the west side. The beams of the eastern side are covered with granite, they have the same patterns with those of the walls and a three-dimensional “visual game” is created. Attention is drawn to the sculptures of Yannis Bouteas (2007) “Layers – Energy Images IV” and “Layers – Energy Images XVI”, inspired by the industrial history of the Gkazi area, the labour past of the district and the archaeological site of Keramikos. The sculptures consist of vertical and horizontal bars, which contain luminous scrolls of images reminiscent of silkscreen printing. The images are inspired by ancient statues. The horizontal bars are interrupted by curved metal surfaces, which contain natural materials (e.g. stone) and tools. The red colour in the lighting of the sculptures continues in the linear red lights of the second level and finally, in the large red ventilation pipes of the platforms, which are also the trademark of the station.

What I can't see

The original location of the station was at the corner of Pireos and Iera Odos Streets, where today there is a square and an underground parking lot. In 1997, however, the Central Archaeological Council decided to build the station further west, i.e. in its current location, for two main reasons: a) The western end of the ancient Keramikos cemetery was discovered, and had to be protected, b) the tunnel from Monastiraki was designed to pass under the archaeological site of Keramikos. To ensure the safety of the tunnel and the archaeological site for at least 200 years from any subsidence that Heridanos River can cause, the tunnel had to be shifted further south and dug to a much greater depth. Based on the original location, the station would be called “Keramikos”, due to its proximity to the archaeological site. With its new location, the names “Votanikos” and “Gkazi” were proposed, but in the end, the original name prevailed.

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