greece is growing up
New details have been revealed of The Ellinikon, Greece’s planned ‘smart city’ with one of Europe’s largest coastal parks, to show a star-studded cast of participating architects. The news follows the unveiling of the Foster and Partners-designed Marina Tower in 2021, which will rise over the masterplan as the tallest building in Greece and the tallest green beachfront high-rise building in the Mediterranean. Now, LAMDA Development offers a closer look at the new district, which includes designs by Kengo Kuma and Associates, Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), Aedas, SAOTA, Oppenheim Architecture, and Katsutoshi Sasaki + Associates.
The Ellinikon Riviera | visualization © Katsutoshi Sasaki + Associates
the ellinikon: a 15-Minute mediterranean City
The Ellinikon project sets its sights on becoming a pioneering example of integrated and sustainable living on the coast of Greece. Rooted in the principles of a ’15-minute city,’ it offers a comprehensive 360-degree experience to its residents, tenants, guests, and employees. This transformation will revive the former site of the Athens International Airport, which operated from 1938 until 2001 before the Marina was developed to host the Sailing Centre for Athens’ 2004 Summer Olympics. Now, this diverse masterplan will combine residential spaces, shopping, workplaces, leisure, entertainment, and cultural activities, all centered around a sprawling two million square-meter park.
Little Athens | visualization © Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)
diverse clusters of programming
As with any thriving 15-minute city, Greece’s the Ellinikon will be shaped by diverse spaces for living, working, gathering, and relaxing. A landmark for the district will be the Marina Tower, a luxury residential high-rise designed by Foster and Partners which will be dripping with suspended gardens (see designboom’s coverage here).
Along the waterfront, an undulating Riviera Galleria will take shape with architecture by Kengo Kuma and Associates. This area will become a premium destination for luxury retail, dining, and leisure, all overlooking the Marina dotted with sailboats.
The developers have announced that Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) has contributed its vision to the Ellinikon with Little Athens, a vibrant residential neighborhood which will comprise over one thousand high- and low-rise homes. The clustered buildings will take on BIG’s familiar stepping forms, and will be infused with gardened courtyards throughout.
Little Athens | visualization © Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)
The Beijing-based architects at Aedas have designed a sprawling Commercial Hub, which will become the largest retail, entertainment and business complex in Greece — and one of the biggest in Southern Europe — spanning over 185,000 square-meters. This area will be divided between workspaces, a retail park, a mixed-use tower, and what will become the largest shopping mall in Greece. The developers envision this hybrid model to stand as the ‘shopping center of the future.’
Riviera Galleria | visualization © Kengo Kuma and Associates
Other areas include a strip of Cove Residences behind a row of waterfront Cove Villas. The Residences — designed by two prominent Greek architects ISV Architects and Bobotis+Bobotis — will include 115 luxury apartments and duplexes, complete with landscaped gardens and courtyards, rooftop terraces, and private swimming pools for the ground floor units and penthouses.
The Villas will more limited in number, with just twenty-eight plots to be built. This more exclusive collection of homes will be designed by a selection of world-renowned architects — including SAOTA, Oppenheim Architecture, and Tombazis & Associates Architects — and will be supervised by Foster and Partners to ensure cohesion within the overall masterplan.
A Mandarin Oriental Athens will introduce a landmark coastal hotel with an exclusive Luxury Resort together with Branded Residences, for a total of two hundred rooms.