Astir Marina was the first marina in Greece developed exclusively for tourist vessels. Built in Vouliagmeni during the early 1960s, it occupies a coastal site distinguished by its natural landscape and archaeological significance.

Its redevelopment began in 2013 with two principal objectives. The existing port infrastructure had to accommodate the increased operational requirements of a home port for mega and superyachts. At the same time, the land zone was reimagined as a destination combining tourism, leisure, retail, dining and marina administration.

KSE Studio prepared the preliminary master plan for the land zone. AETER Architects subsequently developed the final land-zone master plan and designed the new buildings. Neiheiser Argyros were responsible for the landscape architecture and public realm.

The port works were delivered in 2023, while construction on the land zone was completed in May 2024.

 

 

A new programme along the waterfront

The redevelopment addresses two interconnected areas: the reconstruction and improvement of the existing port facilities and the complete reorganization of the land zone.

The latter contains 4,800m² of enclosed spaces accommodating tourism, retail, dining and marina-management functions. The outdoor areas, pedestrian routes and shared spaces were treated as an equally important part of the architectural programme.

To prevent parking from occupying a substantial part of the available open ground, a 156-space underground facility was placed beneath the central plaza. Its position within a steeply inclined section of the site reduces the visual presence of vehicles and preserves the relationship between the buildings, landscape and waterfront.

The new programme is distributed among a sequence of buildings and open plazas. Together, they establish a continuous public route along the central quay and connect the commercial areas with the marina’s operational facilities.

Buildings informed by the language of yachts

For AETER Architects, the form and materiality of the vessels using the marina provided a point of departure for the architectural language.

The façades are characterized by curved, folded and inclined surfaces formed in smooth white exposed concrete. Their changing geometry evokes movement and gives the buildings a different appearance as visitors move along the quays and public routes.

The materials associated with contemporary yachts also informed the treatment of the architectural surfaces. White concrete, extensive glazing, reflective finishes and darker metallic elements create contrasts between solidity, transparency and sheen.

Two central buildings containing retail and dining uses define the principal public space along the waterfront. Their broad overhangs and terraces extend the interior programme outdoors, while preserving uninterrupted views towards the marina.

To the northwest, the two-storey administration building and marina control tower form a more sculptural composition. A broad, almost ceremonial ascent leads to the accessible upper roof, which becomes an elevated viewpoint over the harbour and the Saronic Gulf.

Smaller buildings accommodating supporting functions complete the complex through a more restrained interpretation of the same architectural vocabulary.

 

 

From historical maps to a new public realm

The landscape design by Neiheiser Argyros begins with the proposition that “the map is the territory.” Historical topographic records and old nautical charts were used to retrieve earlier contour lines associated with the site.

These traces informed the main routes, paving patterns and planted zones. Landscape is therefore not applied as a decorative layer around the buildings. Instead, it becomes a continuous system that organizes movement, orientation and the transition between the hillside and the water.

Clusters of planted “islands” form buffers between vehicle circulation, parking areas and the waterfront. They also extend the vegetation of the adjoining slope towards the lower quays.

The paving incorporates irregular marble fragments sourced from nearby quarries. Their variations in scale, geometry and tone emphasize an ad hoc and handcrafted quality associated with the material character of the coastal pine forest.

The placement of the buildings defines a sequence of open plazas coordinated with the planting and the sea. Within the retail and dining zone, the two principal buildings frame the most significant shared space along the waterfront.

Bioclimatic strategies and planted roofs

The buildings employ a series of environmental strategies intended to reduce energy demand. Glazed surfaces support passive solar gain during winter, while deep overhangs, canopies and louvers protect the interiors from direct summer sunlight.

Extensive planted roofs continue the landscape across the upper surfaces of the buildings. They connect the architecture visually with the vegetation of the peninsula and soften the distinction between built and planted areas.

The artificial-lighting strategy responds to the coexistence of several different programmes. It reinforces the identity and hierarchy of the individual buildings while establishing continuity among plazas, covered passages and waterfront routes after dark.

 

 

A landscape of modernization

The redevelopment of Astir Marina continues a longer Greek history in which architecture mediates between tourism infrastructure and landscapes of particular natural, historical and cultural value.

Here, the role of design extends beyond the production of individual buildings. The preliminary planning by KSE Studio, the final master plan and architecture by AETER Architects, and the public realm by Neiheiser Argyros operate as distinct but interconnected layers.

The project remains suspended between two conditions: the local landscape that was already present and the international programme introduced by the marina. Its broader architectural significance lies in the way these forces are negotiated.

The balance between landscape protection and tourism development is not self-evident. Nevertheless, it continues to define a critical field for the evolution of contemporary Greek architecture.

 

The project was first published in print in ek magazine 290 | September 2024, the monthly issue by ek Architectural Publications.

A Top-Floor Apartment Reopened to Light

In Vouliagmeni, Athens, D Flat by Virginia Malami transforms a top-floor apartment open on three sides into a clearer and more luminous domestic interior. In the existing layout, the living areas were oriented in a single direction, leaving the depth of the apartment underlit. The renovation opens the plan from end to end, allowing daylight to travel the full 14.5 metres of the interior from morning to evening.

The project establishes a renewed relationship between active shared spaces and quieter private rooms. Rather than treating the apartment as a sequence of separate rooms, the redesign introduces a continuous spatial order, balancing openness, privacy and the changing presence of light throughout the day.

Three Longitudinal Zones

The plan is organized into three longitudinal zones: a living zone, a central service and infrastructure zone, and a sleeping zone beyond. This division creates a contrast of tempo and atmosphere. The common rooms remain open and flexible, designed to host everyday life in different forms, while the bedrooms are more serene and contained.

The middle band becomes the threshold between these two conditions. It gives thickness to the plan, defines transitions and holds the more technical parts of the apartment, allowing the living areas and bedrooms to retain a sense of calm and clarity.

An Oak Spine for Domestic Infrastructure

At the center of the project is a continuous oak construction that runs along the length of the apartment. It is both furniture and space, a precise architectural element that gathers almost everything newly introduced by the renovation into one continuous system.

The oak spine contains the kitchen, entry coat storage, concealed bedroom doors, a utility cabinet with washing machine, WC, bookshelf and media cabinet. By consolidating these functions, the rest of the plan remains open and uncluttered. A continuous linear light follows the length of the element, turning it after dark into the apartment’s protagonist: an illuminated spine that gives the new program a single, unmistakable presence.

Material Continuity Through Marble and Oak

The material strategy is based on continuity rather than replacement. The existing beige Ioannina marble was preserved as a datum, while new oak was introduced in dialogue with the apartment’s earlier wood presence.

Together, marble and oak create a measured rhythm along the plan through pattern, joints and repetition. Red-and-white striped awnings were also reintroduced, echoing the original elements and carrying their graphic presence into the renewed apartment.

Reuse and Spatial Memory

Reuse forms an integral part of the project’s approach to sustainability and to the respect of what was already there. Where new marble was required in the kitchen after removing parquet, the material was sourced from the demolition rubble of a nearby renovation.

This decision reduces waste while extending the life of an existing material by giving it a new role within the apartment. The renovation therefore works not only with new elements, but also with fragments of material memory that are absorbed into the project’s contemporary organization.

Greek Atmosphere and Swiss Precision

D Flat also reflects the architect’s own trajectory. Raised within a Greek cultural context, with its particular relationship to light, materials and everyday outdoor living, and architecturally formed in Switzerland, where precision and functional clarity are fundamental, the project brings these two registers together without hierarchy.

Local atmosphere and familiar domestic cues are paired with a Swiss-inflected discipline of organization, concentrated infrastructure and concealed transitions. The result is an apartment that feels calm and usable, while retaining a strong relationship to its setting and history.

New Life for an Inherited Apartment

The renovation also acknowledges the personal history of the apartment, which is set within a structure originally built by the architect’s father. Its existing character and spatial memory are treated as material to be worked with, sharpened and carried forward rather than replaced.

Ultimately, D Flat is a project of alignment: plan with sun, new work with existing matter, and contemporary life with inherited character. Through a continuous oak spine, preserved marble and carefully organized light, the apartment is transformed into a calm and precise domestic interior.