Tower of Piraeus
Tower of Piraeus was morphologically similar to the Tower of Athens.
Modern and Contemporary era (1821 - )
1972 Beginning of construction in the presence of the dictator Stylianos Pattakos.
1974 The skeleton was handed over and it remained like that for about 50 years.
1983 Metal and glass curtains were installed.
2023 Its restoration was completed.
Ottoman era (1453- 1821)
Byzantine era (331 AC- 1453)
Roman era (30 BC- 330 AC)
Hellenistic era (322- 31 BC)
Classical era (478-323 BC)
Archaic era (800-479 BC)
Geometric era (-1100- 800 BC)
Prehistory (-1100 BC)
What I can see
It is an 84m high building and has 22 floors. The tower sits on a flattened three-level base, occupying almost the entire plot, and is located on the site of the Piraeus Municipal Market, which was demolished to construct this building. The recent redevelopment of the tower aspires to make it a landmark for the area. The PILA architectural office, led by Elias Papageorgiou, designed the facades in a way that they balance the different scales of the tower and the city. The tower volume is wrapped by horizontal and vertical shading blinds. The vertical blinds are shifted horizontally, creating a giant spiral pattern, like a huge veil wrapping the building. Vertical planting is applied between the blinds of the ground floor and the first two floors.
What I can't see
The dictators’ plan was to function as the Maritime Centre of the Municipality of Piraeus, but it was never completed, due to the bankruptcy of the municipality. The architects Ioannis Vikelas, Alexandros Loizos and Demosthenes Molfesis emphasized the vertical lines of the facades. Due to the similarity of their lines, many called the tower of Piraeus “brother” of the Tower of Athens, which was also designed by Vikelas. Even before the dictatorship, there were plans for offices and stores. After the dictatorship, there were plans for banks and offices on the first floors, shops and food establishments on the next ones, and screening and meeting rooms on the last ones. Eventually, only a few municipal services were accommodated on the first floors. For almost 50 years, the tower dominated the skyline of Piraeus as a symbol of modernization and decay at the same time.
Info
- Address: Poseidonos Coast & Dimosthenous St.
Bibliography
Mpelavilas N., (2021), Ιστορία της πόλης του Πειραιά, 19ος και 20ος αιώνας, [The History of the City of Piraeus, 19th and 20th centuries], Alexandria Publication
Marinaki T., (2020), Παρουσίαση των προτάσεων του αρχιτεκτονικού διαγωνισμού για τον Πύργο του Πειραιά, [Presentation of the proposals of the architectural competition for the Tower of Piraeus ] in Archisearch,
https://www.archisearch.gr/architecture/contest-pyrgos-peiraia-pila-dimand/
Last visit 11/9/2023
