Greek smart city unveils carbon-neutral green space

The designs for the carbon-neutral green space at the heart of Greece’s smart city, and largest ever redevelopment project, has been unveiled.

The Ellinikon Metropolitan Park will be Europe’s largest coastal park at more than 600 acres. It aims to revolutionise the role parks play in new and existing cities, particularly as connective spaces that utilise smart technology to set precedents for ecological restoration.

€8bn redevelopment 

Global design firm Sasaki serves as the master landscape architect for the Metropolitan Park and Coastal Front, which is part of The Ellinikon, Lamda Development’s €8bn redevelopment on the site of the former Athens International Airport. The area was decommissioned in 2001 and has been vacant since the site housed temporary facilities during the 2004 Summer Olympic Games.

In contrast to other European cities, which average roughly 40 per cent public green space, Athens currently offers only about 10 per cent. The City reports Ellinikon will provide a much-needed destination for recreation, outdoor gathering, and immersion in the landscape, and is linked by public transit to serve the larger region.  

The park, which is slated for groundbreaking in 2023 with completion of phase one in 2025, will set a new global precedent for ecological restoration and carbon conscious landscape design and aims to transform urban life in Athens for centuries to come. 

“Sasaki prides itself on our expertise in designing civic projects that transform cities by creating economic and social value”

As well as Sasaki, the team behind the project includes design and engineering consultancy Arup, Greek architectural firm Doxiadis, environmental design consultancy Atelier10, Fluidity, and engineering and environmental services company, Langan. The design of the park is inspired by Athens’ hillscape and intends to celebrate the connection with the land, proposing strong topographic expressions through the site with weaving landforms creating smaller and larger scale spaces.

In addition, the park’s design centres on ecological restoration, material reuse, and cultural programming that honours the site’s histories while introducing novel experiences in a city that does not have a public park at this scale. The programme will incorporate an impressive diversity of elements including a sculpture garden, an agricultural precinct, an amphitheatre, various outdoor event spaces, a public beach, a marina, a sports district, nature-based play areas, multiple community recreational opportunities, and more.