The scaffolding creaks in the November wind. Dimitris Papadopoulos, fifty-three, a landscape architect with soil under his fingernails and a vision in his head, stands on what will soon be Athens’ most talked-about rooftop. Below him, the city sprawls-Lycabettus Hill to the north, the Acropolis to the south, and between them, millions of people who don’t yet know what’s coming.
“People walk past this building every day,” he says, gesturing to the street seven floors below. “They see the construction. They wonder. But they can’t imagine what we’re creating up here.”
What they’re creating is unprecedented: a green rooftop training zone atop The Ilisian, the iconic building that once housed the Hilton Athens. By mid-2026, this space will feature a 720-meter running track, an outdoor gym, a pickleball court, and enough greenery to make you forget you’re in the heart of a concrete metropolis.
The Building That Refused to Die
The Ilisian has history. For decades, it stood as the Hilton Athens, a landmark where politicians made deals, celebrities checked in, and Athenians pointed when giving directions. When it closed for transformation, people mourned. Some thought it would become just another luxury development, sterile and inaccessible.
They were wrong.
The €340 million investment isn’t just about luxury-though there will be plenty of that, with the Conrad Athens hotel’s 307 rooms and suites, including a 400-square-meter mega suite, plus 18 Conrad Residences and 37 Waldorf Astoria Residences in the upper floors. It’s about reimagining what a building can mean to a city.
“We could have built another rooftop bar,” says Maria Konstantinou, project coordinator for Ionian Hotel Enterprises, the company behind the transformation. “Athens has plenty of those. We wanted something that would actually change people’s lives.”
She’s standing in what will become the outdoor gym area, surrounded by construction materials and young trees waiting to be planted. Her phone buzzes constantly-contractors, architects, city officials-but she ignores it. This moment, she says, is too important.
The Man Who Designs Dreams
Simon Rackham doesn’t look like someone who would revolutionize a city’s skyline. Soft-spoken, with wire-rimmed glasses and a notebook filled with sketches, he’s the landscape architect from Simon Rackham Landscape Architects tasked with turning concrete into paradise.
“The challenge wasn’t the design,” he explains, walking along the perimeter where the running track will curve. “It was convincing people that this could work. A 720-meter track on a rooftop? Trees and grass seven stories up? People thought we were crazy.”
But Rackham, who has worked on projects across Greece with his team of Greek collaborators, knew better. He’d studied rooftop gardens in Singapore, green spaces in Copenhagen, urban oases in New York. He knew that cities were suffocating, that people craved nature, that Athens-beautiful, historic, chaotic Athens-needed this.
“Look at this city,” he says, sweeping his hand across the vista. “It’s magnificent. But where do people run? Where do they breathe? Parks are few and far between. We’re giving them a forest in the sky.”
The running track alone is an engineering marvel. It will wind around the rooftop’s perimeter, cushioned and perfectly measured, offering runners a unique experience: exercising with the Acropolis in view, the Aegean breeze in their lungs, the city humming below.
More Than Just a Track
But the track is just the beginning. The rooftop will feature:
A pickleball court-the fastest-growing sport in America, now coming to Athens. “We wanted something social,” Rackham explains. “Something that brings people together.”
An outdoor gym and training tower-not the sterile, indoor kind, but equipment surrounded by plants, where you can do pull-ups while watching the sunset over the Saronic Gulf.
Green spaces-native Greek plants, chosen for their resilience and beauty, creating pockets of calm where people can sit, meditate, or simply escape.
Inside, the House of NYNN will offer functional training zones, Pilates, Gyrotonics, yoga and meditation studios, an indoor pool, heat and cold therapy, bodywork and skincare treatments, and the Vim Bar for nutrition and energy. But it’s the rooftop that captures the imagination.
The Woman Who Runs at Dawn
Eleni Vasiliou doesn’t know about The Ilisian’s rooftop yet. She’s a forty-two-year-old accountant who lives in Kolonaki and runs every morning at 6 a.m. through the National Garden. It’s crowded, the paths are uneven, and she’s been chased by stray cats more times than she can count.
When I tell her about the rooftop track, her eyes widen.
“720 meters? In the sky?” She pauses, processing. “That would change everything. I could run with a view. I could breathe clean air. I wouldn’t have to dodge tourists taking selfies.”
She’s exactly who this project is for. Not just the wealthy residents who will live in the Conrad and Waldorf Astoria apartments, but everyday Athenians who will become members of the House of NYNN club, who will use this space to reclaim their health, their sanity, their connection to nature.
“Athens is a hard city,” Eleni says. “We love it, but it’s hard. Concrete, traffic, noise. If someone builds a green space in the sky, that’s not luxury. That’s survival.”
The Architect Who Honors the Past
The transformation of The Ilisian isn’t just about adding new features. It’s about respecting history. The building’s iconic façades, designed by renowned Greek artist Yiannis Moralis, are being preserved and highlighted. The architectural firm AETER Architects, leading the overall design and coordination, has ensured that every modern addition complements the building’s heritage.
“We’re not erasing the past,” says Kostas Andreadis, lead architect at AETER. “We’re building on it. This building has stories-diplomatic meetings, celebrity weddings, business deals that shaped Greece. We’re adding a new chapter, not replacing the book.”
The project is targeting LEED Gold certification, implementing international best practices for sustainable development. Solar panels, water recycling systems, energy-efficient materials-every detail has been considered.
“Sustainability isn’t optional anymore,” Andreadis says. “Especially not in a city like Athens, where summers are getting hotter and resources are precious. This rooftop will be green in every sense of the word.”
The City That’s Watching
On the street below, people stop and stare. Some take photos. Others ask the security guards what’s being built. The curiosity is palpable.
“I walk past here every day,” says Nikos, a taxi driver waiting at the nearby stand. “I see the green stuff going up. I think, ‘What is that?’ Now I know. A running track in the sky. Only in Athens would someone think of that.”
He laughs, but there’s pride in his voice. Athens is changing. Not just gentrifying or modernizing, but evolving in ways that honor both its past and its future.
The Ilisian will also house multiple restaurants, curated shops, conference spaces, and a clinic offering anti-aging and holistic wellness treatments. Specialists in aesthetics, wellness, and therapeutic practices will provide personalized services. It’s a multidimensional destination for residents, visitors, and members alike.
But it’s the rooftop that symbolizes something larger: a city refusing to be defined by its limitations.
The Promise of 2026
Back on the rooftop, the sun is setting. Dimitris Papadopoulos, the landscape architect, stands at the edge, looking out over Athens. The construction noise has stopped for the day. It’s quiet, almost peaceful.
“In a year and a half, people will run here at sunrise,” he says softly. “They’ll do yoga as the city wakes up. They’ll bring their kids to play pickleball. They’ll sit among the trees and remember that cities can be human.”
He pauses, then adds: “That’s what we’re really building. Not a rooftop. A reminder.”
A reminder that even in a city of concrete and chaos, green spaces can emerge. That history and innovation can coexist. That sometimes, the most revolutionary thing you can do is plant a tree in the sky and invite people to run beneath it.
The Ilisian’s green rooftop won’t just change Athens’ skyline. It will change how Athenians see themselves-as a people who can dream big, build higher, and still keep their feet on the ground.
Or in this case, 720 meters above it.
Source: https://www.bovary.gr/design/spaces/ilisian-prasino-rooftop-allazei-prosopo-athinas
