In Athens, Greece, Lamda Development has launched Little Athens, the newest residential neighborhood at the Ellinikon, a multiuse development billed as a smart city.
An urban regeneration project, the Ellinikon is located on the grounds of Athens’ old international airport. At 6.2 million square meters, the project will deliver about 1,115 new residences, and it will nearly double the amount of green space in the Athens metro area. In addition to residential units, the Ellinikon will encompass commercial, leisure, retail, dining, entertainment, education, and athletics spaces.
Little Athens will feature modern homes, greenspace, retail, office, and hospitality. Designed by Bjarke Ingels Group, the 50-meter-tall Park Rise building will serve as Little Athens’ centerpiece. The high-rise will offer 88 one- to five-bedroom luxury residences across five building cores: two at five floors in height, two at eight floors, and one at 12 floors.
The project’s curved concave façade, with off-white, glass-reinforced concrete, nods to the classic Greek column and to the natural landscape. The exterior juxtaposes flute patterns on the vertical areas with smooth finishes on the soffits and flooring, creating an interplay of textures.
Park Rise offers views of the Aegean Sea on one side and the mountains of Attica on the other. The residences also enjoy sea, park, and mountain views. Penthouse residents have their own private pools.
With oakwood floors, neutral wall tones, and an extensive use of glass, every unit features finishes that evoke the local culture and climate. The kitchens include sintered stone, full-vein porcelain surfaces, and timber parquet floors. The primary bedrooms extend the wood aesthetic on the floors and the wood-panel headboard. The bathrooms feature large-scale ceramic tiles or natural stone and brushed bronze or brushed black chrome fixtures.
Residents-only amenities include a 20-meter indoor swimming pool surrounded by stone, as well as ground-floor private gardens.
On the Building Team:
Developer: Lamda Development
Design architect and architect of record: Bjarke Ingels Group
MEP design: LDK Consultants S.A.
Structural design: HELLINIKI MELETITIKI S.A.
Related Stories
Resiliency | Jun 3, 2024
Houston’s buyout program has prevented flood damage but many more homes at risk
Recent flooding in Houston has increased focus on a 30-year-old program to buy out some of the area’s most vulnerable homes. Storms dropped 23 inches of rain on parts of southeast Texas, leading to thousands of homes being flooded in low-lying neighborhoods around Houston.
Affordable Housing | May 30, 2024
General contractor’s keys to a successful affordable housing project
General contractors can have tremendous influence over a project’s success in terms of schedule, budget, and quality. However, to ensure a project is put on this path, there are a few factors that must be considered.
MFPRO+ New Projects | May 29, 2024
Two San Francisco multifamily high rises install onsite water recycling systems
Two high-rise apartment buildings in San Francisco have installed onsite water recycling systems that will reuse a total of 3.9 million gallons of wastewater annually. The recycled water will be used for toilet flushing, cooling towers, and landscape irrigation to significantly reduce water usage in both buildings.
MFPRO+ News | May 28, 2024
ENERGY STAR NextGen Certification for New Homes and Apartments launched
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently launched ENERGY STAR NextGen Certified Homes and Apartments, a voluntary certification program for new residential buildings. The program will increase national energy and emissions savings by accelerating the building industry’s adoption of advanced, energy-efficient technologies, according to an EPA news release.
Student Housing | May 28, 2024
Student housing remains strong in May 2024
Although the pace has slowed down this year, student housing preleasing for the 2024–2025 season reached 73.5% in April, 50 basis points year-over-year (YOY).
MFPRO+ News | May 24, 2024
Austin, Texas, outlaws windowless bedrooms
Austin, Texas will no longer allow developers to build windowless bedrooms. For at least two decades, the city had permitted developers to build thousands of windowless bedrooms.
Mass Timber | May 22, 2024
3 mass timber architecture innovations
As mass timber construction evolves from the first decade of projects, we're finding an increasing variety of mass timber solutions. Here are three primary examples.
Mixed-Use | May 22, 2024
Multifamily properties above ground-floor grocers continue to see positive rental premiums
Optimizing land usage is becoming an even bigger priority for developers. In some city centers, many large grocery stores sprawl across valuable land.
MFPRO+ News | May 21, 2024
Massachusetts governor launches advocacy group to push for more housing
Massachusetts’ Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll have taken the unusual step of setting up a nonprofit to advocate for pro-housing efforts at the local level. One Commonwealth Inc., will work to provide political and financial support for local housing initiatives, a key pillar of the governor’s agenda.
MFPRO+ News | May 21, 2024
Baker Barrios Architects announces new leadership roles for multifamily, healthcare design
Baker Barrios Architects announced two new additions to its leadership: Chris Powers, RA, AIA, NCARB, EDAC, as Associate Principal and Director (Healthcare); and Mark Kluemper, AIA, NCARB, as Associate Principal and Technical Director (Multifamily).
