DIMAND was once again a sponsor of PRODEXPO, the prestigious annual real estate development conference, that was held on the 6th and 7th of October at the Grande Bretagne Hotel in Athens. We proudly sponsored the “Regenerating the city” section of the conference, with a panel of speakers who covered different aspects of the urban regeneration and presented past, present and future urban regeneration projects. Dimitris Andriopoulos, our CEO and Chairman, introduced the audience to the theme and coordinated the conversation which was joined by a large and warm audience with great enthusiasm and vivid participation.

George Frangou, General Manager of Group Real Estate in the National Bank of Greece (NBG), spoke about the energy optimization project of the bank’s buildings, presenting the challenges faced, the methods followed and the advantages earned. Theodore Maravelias, Chief Technical Officer of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, spoke about the most important regeneration project in Athens at the time being, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, which is in good progress and due for year 2015. Andreas Kourkoulas, Architect, from Kokkinou+Kourkoulas Architects & Associates, spoke about the necessity of having a City Chief Architect leading the urban regeneration and architectural profile of the city, such as in the case of Barcelona. Renzo Piano award winners, senior architecture students Agis Mourelatos and Spiros Giotakis, presented their logic and work on new urban projects. Architects Ermis Chalvatzis and Natassa Lianou, members of the elite design core-team of Zaha Hadid in London presented their urban regeneration proposition for Athens’ black hole, Votanikos.

The conference concluded successfully, regenerating our hope and expectations for an open, bright, vivid and friendly city. We are proud to be part of this community!