Metropolitan Botanical Garden
Antonis Skordilis, CEO of Ecoscapes
The talk focuses on the Metropolitan Botanical Garden, presenting its vision and significance for Athens to the public. Through the discussion, the speakers highlight the essential role of green spaces in improving quality of life, urban well-being, and sustainability. At the same time, they explore how a large-scale urban intervention can transform the heart of Athens, strengthening the connection between residents and the natural environment.
Katerina Andritsou is an architect graduated from the National Technical University of Athens and holds a Master of Landscape Architecture (MLA) from the School of Architecture of Catalonia (ETSAB-UPC), as well as a postgraduate specialization diploma in Architecture and Spatial Design from the NTUA. She has been collaborating with Thymios Papayannis and Associates (TPA) since 2007 and became a partner in 2021.
She has extensive experience in coordinating and developing complex, large-scale projects related to urban design and landscape architecture. Her work includes major projects such as the Integrated Redevelopment of the Phaleron Bay waterfront, the urban regeneration of the former industrial area of Elaionas in Athens, the redesign of the surrounding area of the archaeological site of Elefsina, the landscape design of the Athens Conservatoire surroundings, the development of an 11-kilometer waterfront in Vlorë, Albania, the design of an urban park in Amman, Jordan, and the redevelopment of public spaces and pedestrian networks for the Municipality of Rethymno, among others.
She has also worked independently on landscape and residential design projects, and has collaborated with the Barcelona School of Architecture. Her work has received awards in both Greek and international architectural competitions, and her projects have been published in Greece and abroad.
Antonis Skordilis, PhD, is a biologist from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and the founder and CEO of ECOSCAPES, a pioneering company in the fields of landscape architecture and urban design based in Athens.
In 1992, he completed his PhD dissertation in the ecophysiology of Mediterranean plants and ecosystem management, while also training in Landscape Ecology at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. As a visiting professor in the postgraduate program “Sustainable Development” at the Harokopio University until 2020, he participated in numerous Greek and international academic and applied environmental studies, while supervising a large number of postgraduate theses.
As the founder of ECOSCAPES (established in 2013, with a team of 35 professionals including 6 MLA landscape architects) and co-founder of GREENWAYS LTD (1997–2012), he has supervised the completion of more than 450 landscape architecture projects in Greece and abroad.
His work includes spatial planning and landscape architecture projects for public green spaces, hotel developments, commercial properties, university campuses, private gardens, green roofs, and biodiversity restoration in sensitive ecosystems, among many others.