A tour of the Experience Centre
I had passed by The Ellinikon several times and, like most Athenians, had watched from afar as the area was changing. Curious to see up close what I had previously known mainly through images, news, reports and conversations, I suggested to Anna, a friend from work, that we visit The Ellinikon Experience Centre. We made a booking for a September afternoon.
The temperature was ideal for an outing, so I decided to take the metro and walk from Ellinikon station. Anna was coming by car, and until she arrived I had time to look around.
Across a vast area, there were cranes, scaffolding and construction sites. I was trying to imagine what all this will look like when it's finished. In the distance, the Riviera Tower skyscraper already hinted that what is taking shape here is more than just another modern neighbourhood. It is a new city that will transform life in the southern suburbs of Athens.
The first impression
As soon as Anna arrived, we took a walk around the outside of The Ellinikon Experience Centre and watched groups of people relaxing, as well as children running through the gardens or playing in the fountain and the playground of the Ellinikon Experience Park.
The building itself had already caught our attention while were walking. The large hangar and clear lines evoked Ellinikon's aviation past. It is the Hangar C of the Hellenic Air Force, originally built in 1950 and now listed as a contemporary monument by the Ministry of Culture. It was austere yet imposing, one of those buildings that make you pause for a moment before entering.
As soon as we passed the entrance, the feeling changed. The space was reminiscent of a contemporary museum abroad. After getting our tickets, without having to pay anything, we began our tour.
More than 22 interactive exhibits showcase different aspects of The Ellinikon. We stood in front of the large-scale model of the new city, which covered a total area of 44 sq m. Beneath a white dome, almost as if we had stepped into a time capsule, we began to connect everything we had seen outside: the park, the marina, the skyscrapers, the residences, the hotels and the coastal front.
A stop amidst the greenery
We moved on from the scale model to the section dedicated to The Ellinikon Park, where we suddenly found ourselves amidst grass, colorful flowers, almond trees and olive trees. There, we found out that the park's vegetation would feature typical species of Mediterranean flora. On a screen, we discovered the acanthus, a plant we were seeing for the first time, unaware that its leaves had inspired the decorative motifs on ancient Corinthian capitals. A small piece of information, but the kind that sticks with you.
A little further away, Anna got on a bicycle and took a virtual ride through the park, while I watched sitting on a smart bench, where you can charge your mobile phone. It struck me that this is how technology could blend harmoniously with nature.
From the past to the future
Further down, two dark domes caught our attention. In the first, photographs illuminated one by one unfolded the history of Ellinikon, from the interwar-period settlements of Hasani and Kipoupoli to the years of the airport. The same building seen across two distant periods made us realize how many different lives a space can have.
In the second dome, we switched to another period. Above us stretched a sky filled with stars, with the names of Experience Centre visitors appearing among them. We didn't miss the opportunity to add our own as well.
And after leaving our small mark, we discovered what the dome was actually displaying: the sustainable design of the new city of The Ellinikon. Bioclimatic buildings, flood protection works, renewable energy sources, EV charging stations and smart cleaning of the coastal front were just a few of the things we saw.
A home and a boat
Even before visiting the Experience Centre, one of the things I was most curious to see was what the homes at The Ellinikon would look like. The answer awaited us upstairs, where we entered a smart home featuring modern furniture, lighting that adjusts to natural conditions, and a large window overlooking the sea.
As we went back down to the ground floor, another surprise awaited us: a virtual boat ride along the Ellinikon coastal front. We stepped aboard, took hold of the helm and set off. The image unfolded before us on a large screen, but the experience engaged all the senses. We could feel the vibrations of the engine through our feet, hear the water around us and, most unexpectedly of all, even smell the salty air of the Saronic Gulf.
Looking at Ellinikon again
When we left The Ellinikon Experience Centre, the cranes and scaffolding were still there. Except that now I could see a little further than that. I could imagine a new city with a lush seaside park, modern neighborhoods with open spaces and smart homes. Not because I had heard about them or seen them in pictures, but because, over the previous hour, I had walked among them – albeit in miniature – on screens and through simulations.
Perhaps this was the most interesting part of the visit to the Experience Centre. It doesn't just ask you to imagine what The Ellinikon will be like when completed. It lets you explore it for a little while, even before it's finished.