Faliro Pier 1st Prize

The size and quality of the Athens coastline in combination with the city's warm climate, constitute a higly valuable condition that is largely unexploited; Athenians mostly use the sea around their city when escaping from it during their summer holidays. The proposal uses the Faliro pier that is to be built in front of the New Stavros Niarchos Cultural Park, National Library and Opera complex, designed by Renzo Piano Building Wokshop, to  integrate sea-related activities into the daily city life; The square platform at the end of the pier extends onto a ferry-boat deck, while water-taxis  operated by the New Athens Cultural Park stop on its two sides. The ferry-boat will host cultural and other events with sea-routes that reach as far as Cape Sounio. The water taxis, common practice in a lot of water-side cities, will carry travelers to various spots on the Athens coastline for a reasonable ticket price, extending the city’s mass transportation network into the water.