Many cities around the world have ' Greek towns,' stretches of streets lined with stores selling Greek products or restaurants serving Greek food, perhaps with a Greek community living nearby.

But next year, only Malmo, Sweden can boast a real Greek home beyond Greek borders, designed and built by Greeks with Greek products.

Shipyard to City of Tomorrow

The Swedish city will be transformed from a former shipyard into a new residential area when it hosts a 22-country European Village in a prototype housing exhibition entitled "City of Tomorrow" from May through September 2001.

The programme aims at educating nations about such things as architectural characteristics in other countries, national regulations and methods of construction, all with mandated environmental consciousness in mind.

All structures will be built with permits "issued" from that country and will be designed and constructed by national teams, based on each country's technical know-how and according to their own regulations, not Sweden's.

"The goal is to project Greece, to project Greek architecture in international surroundings," said Undersecretary of Environment, Planning and Public Works Elias Efthimiopoulos.

Projecting Greek architecture

Greece's contribution to the exhibit will be funded by the construction company AVAX in conjunction with the Ministry of Environment, Planning and Public Works.

The Hellenic house will be a four-story structure on a 9-metre wide by 30-metre deep property next to the Czech Republic's home.

Concrete achievement

Project architect Alexandros Tombazis, said the house will be built with reinforced concrete because it is a material that is used in Greece and because it is reusable.

Designers said the main concept of the design is a central common area that extends eight metres high and connects the rooms on various floors with an open mezzanine using balconies.

The goal of the project is to feature as many materials as possible that are used in each country and are safe for the environment.

Marble, plaster, and wood left in a rough, unpolished state will dominate the Greek house, which will also feature a metal staircase and sunbathed balcony for Sweden's sunny season. Door and window frames will be made of wood and windows will feature low-e double-glazing, in accordance with the projects environment friendly idea. P/V cells on the roof and the absence of a traditional Greek fireplace and energy-wasting aluminium also follow the ecological theme.

The house will be topped by a characteristic Greek ceramic-tile sloping roof.

Specific Swedish considerations also were taken into account during designing. Because Sweden gives consideration to handicapped people, the home will have necessary bathroom facilities on the ground floor. The country's climate conditions also brought special attention to windows, placing them in proper locations for natural lighting.

"The design of this building shows that in our country we have the know-how to build environment-friendly structures," said University of Athens Physics Professor Matthaios Santamouris.

Harnessing renewable energy

A major effort was made to reduce energy use during the construction process and for the resulting building to use renewable forms of energy, including the sun and wind.

Strategically placed windows will maximize natural light and solar energy will warm water, for example. A heat distribution system will be produced from biomass which Efthimiopoulos said for Swedes could be wood or whatever else comes from vegetative growth that can be used for energy production.

Santamouris said an analysis showed that the energy needed for heating the building was around 30KW per square-metre a year compared to 80KW consumed by the average home in Greece.

"It takes into account the complete circle of life of the building," he said.

While the cost of the project was not disclosed, AVAX general manager Giorgos Stamatakis said his company would back the project with at least 200 million drachmas.

Concept houses

Stamatakis said AVAX has constructed buildings with similar concepts in Greece, but the project will give the opportunity to see how others work and vice versa.

"The point is to show how we work in Greece, how we are organized, how we approach these type of buildings, and to project our country internationally showing our capabilities, both in research and construction," he said.

In November, the first steps in construction, which will be monitored by the European Commission, researchers and European building developers, began with the foundation setting.

The public will have a chance to visit the village, and after the exhibition closes next fall, houses will be sold on the free market after they are furnished and decorated in each country's style.

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