The avant-garde Piraeus Tower, now a key landmark in the city, was officially inaugurated on Tuesday, June 4. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of the Piraeus Municipality, it took the tower a remarkable 52 years to become fully operational. The Piraeus Tower officially opened its doors last night in a grand ceremony attended by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
CTBUH Facade Award of Excellence 2024
The tower’s facade, crafted by the architectural firm PILA, garnered the Facade Award of Excellence 2024 from the globally prestigious Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH). CTBUH, a Chicago-based non-profit focused on smarter cities and sustainable urban futures, is renowned for awarding titles like “World’s Tallest Building.”
Piraeus Tower Renovation
The municipality’s bold decision to put the iconic building up for a concession tender led to the DIMAND-PRODEA-EBRD consortium undertaking a 99-year concession agreement to revitalize this significant edifice. Dimand’s renovation employed modern technologies, making it Greece’s first LEED-certified green and digital tower.
Impressively, the tower is now fully leased across all 22 floors. Last week, the building welcomed Greece’s largest Zara store, which is also the second largest in Europe. The establishment includes a sports store and will soon feature a cafe and restaurant on the third floor. A pharmacy will open on the ground floor, and the offices of Dialectica and Vgroup are now operational.
PILA’s innovative facade design transformed the Piraeus Tower into a vibrant landmark, blending aesthetic appeal with sustainable strategies to significantly reduce energy usage.
Originally constructed in 1971, the Piraeus Tower remained dormant for decades. Following its comprehensive renovation, it now stands as Greece’s second-highest skyscraper, valued at approximately 130 million euros.
Key details of the renovation include:
- Total area: 34,600 sq.m.
- Renovation executed by: TERNA, with Echinos providing support
- Lead Architect: BETAPLAN
- Facade Architect and Common Areas Architect: PILA
- Retail Architect: ASPA KST
The building boasts LEED Platinum certification and WELL certification, underscoring its commitment to worker health and well-being. Additionally, the tower underwent thorough digitization using BIM technology, leading to the establishment of a Control Center to manage all systems, earning it the title of Greece’s first digital tower.
Each floor operates autonomously with fully bioclimatic and smart systems tailored to tenant needs. Notably, the tower’s elevators promise a swift journey from ground level to the top in just 23 seconds. The upper floors offer a breathtaking panoramic view of Piraeus, including an expansive 360-degree vista from Faliro to Athens’ centre, Mount Aegaleo, and surrounding areas.
The Green Tower Initiative
Piraeus Tower is also pioneering in its green initiatives. The tower features cutting-edge heating and cooling systems, with 500m2 of photovoltaics on the rooftop to support the daily electrification of communal areas. Additionally, three basement generators ensure safety during power outages.
The building’s environmental footprint is minimized by collecting rainwater in six special tanks beneath the second basement, reused for irrigation. The old glass facade was largely recycled during panel installation, and new crates with sunshades achieved energy class A++.
For convenience, the tower offers 44 basement parking spaces and 250 spaces in a nearby lot at Karaiskaki Square, just 250 meters away from the port of Piraeus.
Piraeus Tower is a beacon of innovation and sustainability, reflecting the harmonious blend of historical significance and modern advancement.