The Hellinikon Project, Athens, Greece
The largest urban development in Greece’s history is happening as we speak. The site of 2004 Olympic venues is turning into one of Europe’s biggest tourist casino! The project is known as the Hellinikon Resort and it has caused spurs of excitement everywhere.
Keep reading to find out more this very interesting megaproject!
Before we discuss the project, let’s first look into its land’s history. The word Hellinikon in Greek language literally means ‘the Greek’. The site already had Athens’ first and only international structure built over it – the Ellinikon International Airport. Two years before World War 2, the airport became operational and until 2001, it enjoyed the most limelight by being the largest airport of Greece. However, when ‘Eleftherios Venizelos’ came into existence, it took everybody’s attention. The old airport was left to die – alone and miserable. Despite being the host for 2004 Olympics, its place had now become a sprawling abandoned plot – a sad sight and a little frightening too. That’s when the Greek Ministry of Environment, the Organization for the Planning and Environmental Protection of Athens (ORSA) and the International Union of Architects (UIA) came up with a plan. They decided to run a competition to see who could best urbanize this site. An international team of engineers and architects led by David Serero, Philippe Coignet and Elena Fernandez took part in the bidding process and won it.
So, what was their plan?
Well, the metropolitan park they proposed was indeed revolutionary. The renders showed very picturesque sceneries. There were large green areas with beautiful streams running through the topography of the city. How was this possible? The concept behind it was unique. The park had ‘soft-scapes’ – the irrigated corridors for channeling and collecting natural rain from place to place. These soft-scapes ran through different well thought-out locations, thereby watering various activities along the way, creating cascading waterfalls and integrating a playful work on the city’s artificially created slopes.
Despite being the winners, the company known as the Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment could not move forward with their plan. Why, might you ask? Their plan was bogged down. There were local protests, some environmental concerns, the very much controversial archeological rulings and bureaucratic delays. Konstantatos informed in.gr news website how a small number of 10 to 15 people in influential positions had been demonstrating against the idea ever since it became known to the public. He considered their reasons absurd. He commented, for instance, how the land does not belong to the forests. There was greenery almost a century ago but the forest agency could not claim the land as theirs since before this project, the land already had an airport running over it. As for the archeologists, he said they had talked about the signs of antiquities without having found anything and that they were extremely uncertain themselves. Also, where were these archeologists in 2001 when the site was abandoned? He informed how the adjacent site of Agios Kosmos was declared an archeological site in 1957 and not this one.
After nearly two decades now, the long-awaited dream project is finally becoming a reality. It is, in fact, in its home straight phase now. So, the plot of Hellinikon, which had the Athen’s enormous former airport, would very soon be an integrated resort featuring a large metropolitan park and premium amenities.
Hellinkon Project is a multi-dimensional project. It has many sectors and its main purpose is to increase country’s economic development on macro and micro levels. It covers an area of 2,000,000 sq. m., and consists mainly of an upgraded coastal front and a world class Metropolitan Park. This spectacular megacity would be fully accessible to the public. Not only would the site attract tourists from around the world, but also set a new vision for the Mediterranean coastal development in Greece. As per the proposed plan, the project would be similar in size or larger than Hyde Park in London. This €8 billion project would become the new modern landmark of Greece.
It is speculated that the project would generate over 50,000 permanent jobs, be a home to residential complexes, hotels, shopping malls, office buildings and other must-have features of a city. After the site lay fallow for nearly twenty years, it is now returning to life again. Based on a restorative approach, the project consists of designs which make use of existing structures and resources. The final product, which lies close to the heart of Athenian Riviera City, is expected to be a vibrant district with different neighborhoods connected with metro and tram services. These mixed-use, walk-able neighborhoods would be self-sustaining and have green pedestrian connections. Moreover, they would benefit from the nearby Aegean Sea and the large park. Another interesting fact about this new city is that there is a smooth transition of height which allows the structures to merge into the vernacular of local communities, thereby preserving the old city’s overall feel. This feature ensures preservation of both social and cultural value of the area.
The proposed master plan features an entertainment center for hosting all kinds of events, an observation tower, a sculpture park, an ‘aquarium’, a beach, an athletics precinct, green jogging tracks for friends and families and centers for formal environmental education. The big green park is being designed by United States based firm Sasaki, which specializes in urban planning and design. The firm has made known how this park alone, with 50 kilometers (31 miles) of interlaced paths for walking, would have over 1 million new plants. Overall, the megacity would have every essential feature within a 15-minute walking radius and the Ellinikon Experience Center would keep its people up to date with latest events and happenings. The high-end shopping malls, international retailers and well-known Greek designers would further add value to the project. The plan also boasts Greek’s tallest ever commercial tower having low-rise offices with connections to two metro and one tram line.
Now, there is a residential Marina tower also and its design is simply spectacular.
The horizontal planes, curved walls and the clear enclosure, proposed by Foster + Partners, not only cause a capacious appearance but also allow for a beautiful interplay between graded shadows and the natural light. The architect has aligned its contrasting materials, the very smart angles and an alternating rhythm of curves in an octagonal fashion around the center to reduce exposure to predominant winds and create an illusion of the building being in a dynamic motion at all times. Also, as per the proposed plan, the structure would have warm and earthy materials and the subtropical gardens, suited to the region’s Mediterranean climate. Such intelligent use of colors, aromas and textures would help diffuse the Attica light and preserve the area’s real sense.
The Hellinikon Resort is currently the largest regeneration project in Europe and so, its impact on the real estate market is significant. Antonis Markopoulos told the Greek Reporter how the prices are already very high in those areas. Now, since the foreign investors are also taking a lot of interest in the southern suburbs of Athens, the prices would likely go up in future. According to Giannis Konstantatos, the place would trigger investments in tourism, entrepreneurial activities and innovation for the country. It would create endless job opportunities for its people. Other sources confirm that the project would contribute at least 2% to the country’s economy. A place like this, which we speculate is beyond the reach of most Greeks, would most likely attract rich Saudi businessmen, Swedish retirees and digital nomads from everywhere.
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