Yort / Yort architects Danir Safiullin and Irina Prytkova took part in an international competition for the project of reconstruction of the facades of the high-rise building Piraeus Tower in the capital of Greece. Their work "Athens Falls" was among the winners, taking second place.
The object of reconstruction was a 22-storey building in the Athenian port of Piraeus, which has remained empty for more than thirty years (construction began in 1972, but was never completed); the townspeople call him "the sleeping giant." According to the instructions of the competition, it was required to include the Piraeus Tower in the urban landscape and make this building a symbol of Piraeus and Athens in general, generate original ideas for changing the facades of the building, involving the use of new and original materials, including those produced by DuPont, which was one of the organizers of the competition. … This competition was to initiate a broad public discussion about the reconstruction of the external appearance of the Pireaus Tower and the further operation of this tower.
More than 380 works from 44 countries of the world took part in the competition, the authors of which offered many interesting ideas. First place went to the Windscraper project by US architects Matthias Hollwich and Marc Kushner, and the third prize went to the Sun tower by Italian architect and designer Marco Acerbis.
According to Danir Safiullin and Irina Prytkova, laureates of the second prize of the competition, they made the decision to participate in Piraeus Tower 2010 due to the interesting topic of the competition, which involved rethinking the image of a (modern) building in the ancient city, as well as the key location of this building: in the port area, on the waterfront, at the water gates of Athens. Their project is inspired by "Greece itself, the abundance of water space, hot climate, reflections of ancient Greek philosophers and poets about water and its role in the process of creation."
According to their plan, the glazed facade of the tower hides a gigantic waterfall that falls down from the height of its roof. The theme of water is a key theme for Greece in both ancient and modern times, which is facilitated by its geographical position with a long coastline and a dry and hot climate with occasional rainfall. The majestic image of an endlessly falling stream of water should immediately draw attention to the Piraeus Tower, making it a symbol of the city. The waterfall, for the creation of which it is proposed to use seawater, lifted upward with the help of a system of pumps, will humidify the air around and drown out the noise of city life.
