What I can see

On the west side of the city, in the area of Agia Varvara, there is a complex of 22 labour apartment buildings. The typology of the buildings is the usual of the labour apartment buildings whose construction took place -mainly- after 1950. A few years ago, at the corner of Sifnou and Voutenis Streets, one of them was upgraded to be energy more efficient. The original 3-4cm thick insulation was converted to 15cm thermal insulation and the building was painted with self-cleaning thermal plaster (a nanotechnology product), which rarely needs to be renewed. It also got thermal break windows, energy glazing, new shades, smart energy meters, geothermal system, green roof, photovoltaic panels and cold materials in the green areas. It was found that energy costs were reduced by 40%.

What I can't see

The residents of the apartment buildings are mainly of low incomes and Roma. The Centre for Renewable Energy Sources (CRES) and the municipality had undertaken the upgrade of 4 apartment buildings. This pilot project is incomplete, and works for the other 3 apartment buildings are frozen. The cost of upgrading one apartment building was covered by donations. Only 2 of the 4 apartment buildings of this project had central heating. The project is called “Green Pilot Neighbourhood”; it aims at becoming a model for similar renovations in the future and is considered a pioneering project for European standards, because the upgrade is done in existing buildings, and the tenants do not have to move temporarily.

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