Plans for Greece’s First ‘Green’ Skyscraper Presented

A bird’s-eye view of the Marina Tower to be constructed at The Ellinikon.

Plans for Greece’s first ‘green’ skyscraper to go up along the Athenian Riviera as part of the country’s largest urban redevelopment project – The Ellinikon (formerly known as Hellinikon) – were presented this week by Lamda Development, the investing company.

Lamda CEO Odisseas Athanasiou presented architectural plans for the Marina Tower, which he said will be the “starting point of a new era”.

The ambitious venture is expected to be complete in five years.

The 45-storey skyscraper, designed by award-winning British architectural design firm Foster + Partners is set to be the tallest in Greece and in Europe at 200 meters.

It will be erected along the Agios Kosmas Marina and its 200 “smart” apartments will all have panoramic views to the sea, Lamda said, adding that the company is aiming to establish the Marina Tower as a world architectural landmark and a model of sustainable design incorporating best environmental practices and the latest in international safety protocols.

The Marina Tower is one of six high-rise buildings to go up at The Ellinikon.

“[This will be] a unique building by Greek and global standards, an architectural landmark, which will exemplify the overall redevelopment [project] with a  ‘green’ focus, respect for the environment and the quality of life,” said Athanasiou.

“At The Ellinikon we want to create a new global model of urban development which will be the starting point of a new era for our country and for all Greeks,” he said.

Lamda CEO Odisseas Athanasiou

Referring to The Ellinikon masterplan, Antoinette Nassopoulos-Erickson, Senior Partner at Foster + Partners said it “sets out new standards of urban development, combining new ways of living, working and entertainment revolving around a metropolitan park – an important destination for the local community and the city of Athens”.

“Our proposal for the Marina Tower is based on basic principles of sustainable design, creating an archetype new development model and a new ‘green’ landmark for the country,” Antoinette Nassopoulos-Erickson added.

Considered the largest greenfield urban infrastructure development investment in Europe, The Ellinikon is also the largest privately-funded investment to be carried out in Greece, budgeted at around 8 billion euros and set to create more than 75,000 jobs.

At the same time, the country’s first Integrated resort and casino (IRC), INSPIRE Athens, is expected to increase international tourism arrivals to Attica by 10 percent.

The project cleared the last hurdle last month paving the way for works to begin in the coming period.

Lamda Development changed the logo of the project earlier this month from Hellinikon to The Ellinikon so that it reflects the blue of the Greek sea and sky and  Greek light.