Urban Land Institute Greece and Cyprus held its annual conference last week, focusing on sustainability and how property owners can prepare for the future.
GreekGuru.net was a media sponsor to the event.
In a hugely successful event, speakers also looked at current architecture trends, the finance of going green and how the retail sector can adjust to a fast changing demands.
Keynote speaker was Dan Ringelstein, Director, Cities Planning and Design | Urban Design and Master Planning at Arup, who emphasized the importance of positive change in his remarks, stating that we are on the verge of major transformations. The reasons for adapting our old buildings are more important than ever:
1. Financial: Upgrading existing structures is frequently less expensive and faster than dismantling and rebuilding.
2. Environmental: Repurposing old buildings has the ability to minimize embodied carbon and remove garbage from landfills.
3. Placemaking: Preserving and restoring old structures can help communities develop distinct identities, encouraging beneficial development.
He also advised stakeholders to think about whole-life emissions and the trade-offs between operational and embedded carbon emissions. While new buildings may be more efficient in terms of operations, their embodied emissions are significant.
Other participants included: Tom Whittington, Director of Retail & Leisure Research, Savills; Eleni Polychroniadou, Co-Founder, Sintali; Nectar Efkarpidis, Director, Molonglo; Cristian Meister, Managing Director bei, Hines; Adam Alari, Head of Living Research & Strategy, Europe, Savills Investment Management Evgenios Dendrinos, Real Estate Director, Temes S.A; Ioannis Orfanos, Partner, Arbitrage Real Estate I Board member, ULI Greece & Cyprus.