New Thessaloniki ConfEx Park to Be ‘Greenest’ Expo, Conference Center in Europe

The new bioclimatic ConfEx Park of Thessaloniki, once completed, will be Europe’s greenest exhibition and conference center, Greek national exhibition body TIF-Helexpo announced on Friday.

The Thessaloniki ConfEx Park will be the revamped version of the current Thessaloniki International Exhibition Center. The park’s revamp will follow the design of Sauerbruch Hutton (Germany), Gustafson Porter + Bowman (UK) and Elena Stavropoulou (Greece) after it was selected among 15 proposals submitted to the International Architectural Design Competition that launched in 2020 for the revamp of the Thessaloniki International Exhibition Center.

TIF-Helexpo presented the park’s innovative design during the 85th Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) that is running at the city’s international exhibition center until September 19.

The winning proposal foresees the construction of five large structures (island-like circular canopies) that will include exhibition and conference facilities, a hotel and a business center. Corridors and bridges will connect all exhibition areas on the first floor, and an outdoor exhibition space on the top floor.

Furthermore, an outdoor air corridor will offer panoramic views of Thessaloniki.

According to Μatthias Sauerbruch of Sauerbruch Hutton Architects, the exhibition areas and the conference center will feature a line of distinctive extended roofs resembling “floating clouds”.

The winning proposal also foresees the creation of a large park based on sustainable principles and that will display all the endemic plants of the area of Thessaloniki.

It will also include sports and entertainment facilities while it will be accessible to pedestrians and cyclists.

Multiple benefits for Thessaloniki

The ConfEx park will offer a number of benefits to Thessaloniki as it will connect the sea with the mountain, acting as a “green” corridor crossing the heart of the city.

“It will offer a significant comparative advantage to TIF-Helexpo to attract more exhibitions, because such city exhibition centers simply do not exist,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said during the project’s presentation.

Furthermore, the project will create a win-win-win situation for the local economy, the exhibition activity and the quality of life of residents.

“It will form a city that most of us have only dreamed of,” TIF-Helexpo President Tasos Tzikas said.

Budgeted at 200 million euros, the project is expected to be completed in 2026, in time for TIF’s 100th anniversary.