New Currency: The Food Bank as Infrastructure for Social Wealth & Governance in Plato’s Academy, Athens
H.N. Ip (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
M. Mateljan – Mentor (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
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Abstract
This thesis reinterprets the concept of a “bank” as a civic institution for collective well-being rather than financial governance, proposing a food (waste) bank in Athens that addresses urban food waste through collection, redistribution, and education. Beyond logistics, it is envisioned as a platform where citizens, stakeholders, and policymakers co-produce sustainable food practices, reflecting Greek cultural values of hospitality and food identity while responding to modern challenges of overproduction and waste. The project also draws a parallel between food waste and the neglected site of Plato’s Academy, treating both as resources that can be reactivated through architectural and institutional intervention. In doing so, it explores how architecture can transform surplus and ruins into forms of social, ecological, and cultural value within the urban fabric.