Athens, Greece

“The structure is situated on a really important part of the wider city of Athens – its coastline,” states PILA principal Ilias Papageorgiou.

“So we see the ‘awakening’ of the abandoned structure to spark a broader regeneration of the coastline area allowing for the life of the city to move closer to the water.”

Athens-based architects Ilias Papageorgiou and Christina Papalexandri, founders of PILA, along with BETAPLAN are renovating and reviving the Tower of Pireaus—a long-abandoned building originally built in 1975 by Ioannis Vikelas, Gerasimos Molfesis, and Alexandros Loizos in Greece’s largest port, Piraeus.

The 84-meter-high office tower, which was originally designed by the architects Vikelas, Molfesis, and Loizou, was completed in 1975, but only the three floors within the structure were ever occupied.

For more than 40 years, the remaining 21 floors have remained empty and abandoned.

Since 1985, buildings in the wider Athens area have been restricted to a height of 27 meters, meaning the tall office tower dominates the Piraeus port area.

PILA’s aim was to redesign the facade so that it would offer different appearances to different areas of the city.

“Piraeus Tower is highly visible in the city so we wanted to create a facade that engages with the multiple scales of experience whereby one perceives the tower. Depending on where one is standing, the building might appear more unified, transparent, or solid,” explains Ilias Papageorgiou.

The facade is designed in collaboration with engineer Eckersley O’ Callaghan and will be divided vertically by horizontal louvers between each floor, while multiple vertical plates will shield full-height glass windows.

The architects have developed a shading system in order to reduce the building’s solar gain.

The building’s original facade will be visible through the new structure, from the surrounding streets.

“The new facade acts as a soft veil that under different lighting conditions allows glimpses of the existing structural grid of the building,” explains Papageorgiou.

Piraeus Tower’s rejuvenation project is expected to be completed in 2023.

Project: Tower of Piraeus
Architects: PILA 
Lead Architects: BETAPLAN Architects & Planners
Original Architects: Ioannis Vikelas, Gerasimos Molfesis, and Alexandros Loizos (1975)
General Contractor: TERNA S.A.
Facade Engineers: Eckersley O’ Callaghan
Clients: Dimand SA, Prodea Investments, and EBRD
Renderings: Konstantinos Koudounis