LAMDA Development secures contract to build Olympic Games Media Village
LAMDA Development has undertaken the building of the Media Village for the 2004 Olympics, to be developed on a site in Marousi. This will be a pioneering project, with no parallel in Greece, combining non-aggressive development with environmental sensitivity. It will also be one of the few self-financed projects to be built for the Athens Games.
The Media Village will accommodate 1,600 journalists and will be built on a 62-acre site comprising low buildings, extensive open spaces and direct contact with the facilities of the Athens Olympic Sports Complex.
The Media Village will consist of three discrete units:
- 20-acre park, planned as a single unity and constituting a distinct area which will act as a lung for the surrounding district. It will contain open spaces, planted areas, leisure amenities and a network of paths and small piazzas over a total area of 18.5 acres.
- Clusters of low buildings covering just 40% of the total area.
- Commercial, leisure and cultural activity centre serving the journalists accommodated at the Media Village.
Mr. Lambros Anagnostopoulos, CEO of LAMDA Development, has issued the following statement: The projects objective is to accommodate the journalists in ideal conditions, ensuring maximum promotion for the country during the Games.
This will also be the first time in Greece that we have seen the development of an organised, pioneering space, offering a model for the total regeneration of a neighbourhood and the improvement of everyday quality of life for the people of Marousi and the surrounding area.
A model of non-aggressive development
The Media Village will be designed to meet contemporary, international specifications which will ensure its post-Olympic use as high-quality permanent housing.
- The construction will not occupy the full ratio of ground area permitted by law (the area falls within the urban plan) and there is thus a substantial increase in both size and quality of the open spaces and planted areas.
The journalists covering the Olympics and the permanent residents who succeed them will be living in modern, spacious apartments, carefully designed for optimum orientation and fine views, surrounded by extensive open spaces and pedestrian areas, etc. - Contemporary infrastructures are being created and the whole area around the Athens Olympic Sports Complex is being environmentally upgraded
- A covered parking area with spaces for 4,000 cars is being built at the rail station, while energy and other networks are undergoing modernisation
- The whole complex will be environment-friendly, designed to incorporate all the latest ecological methods, with solar energy, natural gas and ecological materials.
LAMDA Development will develop the Media Village in rigorous adherence to local planning specifications and the environmental criteria laid down by the Municipality of Marousi and the Ministry of the Environment, with whom the company is working closely to secure the best possible results.
LAMDA Development is a holding company listed on the Main Market of the Athens Stock Exchange. Through its various subsidiaries it offers a wide range of integrated services in complementary areas such as real estate development, investment and operation for profit, tourism, shipbuilding and repair, aviation and infrastructure projects.