What I can see

The ANKOT LTD building consists of 4 basements, a ground floor, a mezzanine, and 8 floors. It is one of the first green buildings in the centre of Athens and one of the few with this colour, thanks to the special green crystals on the facade. According to civil engineer Panagiotis Antonopoulos Papageorgiou, the limited length of the building’s facade and its coverage on both sides by adjacent buildings, significantly limit the possibility of maximum use of natural light. This is where technology comes into play. The photovoltaic panels on the roof and facade produce 27 MWh and reduce CO2 emissions by 26 tons per year. The architectural difference on the last 4 floors is that they have larger balconies and parapets. The corresponding gaps on the lower floors are filled with red inclined metal beams, which chromatically balance the dominance of the green colour. Residents’ opinions regarding the aesthetics of the building are mixed.

What I can't see

Each floor is connected to the building’s common recycling system and waste ends up separately in appropriate bins, which are located in the basement. Overall, internal and external insulation materials have been applied to the building to optimally maintain a constant temperature throughout the year. A layer of recycled tires has been placed on the foundations for better sound insulation. The soil of Athens is limestone and is easily penetrated by noise. Therefore, the noise from the busy Alexandras Avenue is drastically reduced. The elevators have technology that their operation is continued until the next floor of its course during an earthquake of up to 5R, so that the building can be evacuated easily and with safety. We must not forget that a green building cannot be ecological if people do not take care of it and conserve it, so that it remains as such. On the contrary, a green building in decline and with anti-ecological human activity (e.g. forgotten lights, private swimming pools, etc.) may have the opposite results.

Info

• Address: 93 Alexandras Av.

Bibliography