Lamda to Develop ‘The Ellinikon’ into a Smart, Sustainable City

© DBOX for The Ellinikon

Sustainability and environmental protection are among the key planning principles of The Ellinikon, the highly anticipated urban regeneration project in Greece, set to breathe new life into the Athenian Riviera.

Developed by Lamda Development exclusively with private funds, the project focuses on the coastal front regeneration of Ellinikon and includes the creation of a metropolitan park, residential zones, schools and special utility infrastructures, tourism, sports and entertainment facilities.

Lamda Development CEO Odisseas Athanasiou

“The Ellinikon will be developed from the ground up as a smart city featuring state-of-the-art technologies and innovations such as the 15-minute neighborhoods that will offer residents access to everything they need within a 15-minute distance,” Lamda Development CEO Andreas Athanasiou said during an online presentation of the mega-project on Tuesday.

Apart from an iconic modern city, The Hellinikon also aspires to become a sustainable destination. Therefore, Lamda Development has put together a team of some of the world’s best urban planners, architects and engineers who are working to create a sustainable city that will reflect Athens’ beauty and historic identity.

“Until recently, concrete exceeded green areas at a ratio of 70 – 30 percent. The Ellinikon will reverse this. We are now creating open green areas across 70 percent of the plot,” Athanasiou said.

With sustainability in mind, the company has established a Special Environmental Unit to ensure that the project’s environmental conditions and commitments will be met during all stages.

Resilience to climate conditions

Resilience to future climate conditions is also among the top priorities of The Ellinikon masterplan.

According to Lamda Development Chief Planning and Construction Officer Dimitris Zontanos, expert engineers have developed an advanced water management and anti-flooding system. This includes an elaborate underground system for the collection, treatment and channeling of rainwater.

The plan also sees the revival of the area’s streams and the development of an underground wastewater treatment facility that will contribute to the park’s irrigation and supply Ellinikon and neighboring municipalities with clean water for similar use.

© DBOX for The Ellinikon

Once fully developed, The Ellinikon will offer:

– easy access to visitors from all parts of Attica
– a 1km sandy beach open to all
– a road network of over 50km with walkaways, bicycle lanes and light traffic roads
– a 12km Cultural Path that will include monuments of Attica’s significant prehistoric settlements
– state-of-the-art sports facilities
– the Ellinikon park, one of world’s largest coastal parks
– public utility infrastructures.

The Hellinikon is expected to offer 85,000 new jobs and attract more than 1 million visitors from around the world on a yearly basis. A large part of the project will be completed by 2025.