This article was also published in issue 153 of Marina World magazine. Click here to read the online version.
Marina World speaks to Ryan Neiheiser of Neiheiser Argyros Architects about how marinas can best be designed to merge cityscapes, landscapes and ecology into a single, integrated and attractive waterfront location.
Neiheiser Argyros has a background in ambitious public realm and cultural projects. Can you tell us more about your history and how you began working on marinas?
My partner, Xristina Argyros, and I founded Neiheiser Argyros ten years ago in London, and we opened our Athens office five years later. The practice is deliberately multidisciplinary and our work is guided less by project type than by a general intellectual curiosity, belief in the value of good design and commitment to creating environments with civic and cultural resonance. Our team of architects, master planners and landscape specialists work from early feasibility and concept design through construction, and our built work spans Europe, the UK and the United States, giving us a genuinely global perspective.
Our path into marina design was indirect and grew out of our long-standing interest in the relationship between architecture, landscape and water. One of our first major projects was the Tide Linear Park along the River Thames in North Greenwich, a one-kilometre-long waterfront park that weaves cycling and walking paths, gardens and elevated landscapes over existing infrastructure. Much like the High Line — which I worked on while at Diller Scofidio + Renfro in New York — it required us to think deeply about how nature and infrastructure can coexist, how cities meet water and how public spaces can support leisure, wellness and everyday civic life.
When we were later approached to design the new Astir Marina in Athens, we brought this same thinking to a very different context. While an urban waterfront park in London and a Mediterranean marina are distinct typologies, the core questions are remarkably similar: how land and water connect, how people are invited to engage with the waterfront, and how architecture, landscape and ecology can be conceived as a single, integrated system. That synthetic way of thinking ultimately defines our approach to marina design today.
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What about the Astir Marina landscape design was particularly successful, in your opinion? How has this success informed other designs in Ermioni and Peloponnese?
At the outset of the Astir Marina project, we looked closely at the prevailing state of marina design and what struck us was how harsh these environments often are — particularly in the zone immediately behind the boats. Too often, this area is treated as pure infrastructure: expanses of concrete dominated by cars, services and power connections, with very little consideration for the public realm.
For Astir, we deliberately inverted this logic. We relocated the primary parking to the rear of the site and buffered it with a planted landscape — conceived as a series of slightly surreal, island-like mounds — so that the waterfront itself could become a generous, pedestrian-focused public space. Along the water’s edge, the marina promenade is primarily a shared walking environment with limited drop-off access, shaded seating and both visual and acoustic separation from vehicles. This shift fundamentally changed how the marina is experienced, prioritising people and landscape over infrastructure.
Each of the planted islands was given a distinct geometry and identity, creating a rhythm along the site and allowing the spaces between them to act as passages connecting the waterfront promenade to the back-of-house areas. Importantly, these elements were designed to feel as though they emerge from the ground rather than sit on top of it — exaggerated, three-dimensional landforms that create a new topography. We wanted to move away from the idea of the marina as neutral, flat ground and instead introduce a sense of landscape and life that feels intentional and spatially rich.
The conceptual foundation of this landscape comes from the specific context of the Vouliagmeni Peninsula — a lush pine forest on the south coast of Athens — combined with the paradox of designing a “landscape” on newly engineered ground constructed in the sea. Rather than treating this as a tabula rasa, we were interested in acknowledging the invisible but complex ecosystems of the seabed beneath. Nautical charts, with their contours, hatches, gradients and vectors, became an important reference as did the graphic language of topographic mapping.
We also studied the geographic history of the site, including World War II–era aerial surveys, to uncover the original shape of the coastline, its coves, beaches and small islands. By overlaying these historic contours onto the new marina geometry — shaped by contemporary engineering, logistics and environmental forces — we found a compelling way to merge the site’s past with its present. The resulting landscape tells a geological and cultural story, rather than simply accommodating boats.
What are some of the core design principles you try to adhere to when designing a marina? What strategies would you use to ensure that a marina is contextual, accessible and inviting?
At the core of our approach is the belief that marinas should be conceived as extensions of their surroundings rather than isolated pieces of infrastructure. While they are highly specialised environments, they also have the potential to function as timeless and inclusive public places — welcoming waterfronts that belong as much to the local community as to visiting boaters. A successful marina should feel like a natural continuation of the town or landscape it touches, extending everyday life to the water’s edge.
In Ermioni, Greece, we are applying this idea by treating a new 260-berth marina as a contemporary extension of the adjacent historic village. The architecture and masterplan take cues from the scale, proportions and rhythms of traditional Greek coastal settlements, but reinterpret them in a restrained, contemporary way. Buildings remain low and compact, materials are drawn from the local palette and forms are kept simple and legible, allowing the development to sit comfortably within its context without resorting to pastiche.
At the scale of the masterplan, we focus on familiar spatial elements that make Mediterranean towns so inviting: walkable streets, shaded public spaces and continuous waterfront promenades. These elements help ensure the marina is not inward-looking but open and accessible, a place where people naturally gather, move through and linger. Clear connections between land and sea, along with generous public spaces, allow the marina to operate as a civic and social destination, not just a technical harbour.
Much discussion about marina design nowadays concerns how they can become vibrant, social waterfront areas around which a little community arises. Which design features and indeed materials do you believe are best suited to this purpose, and why?
Marinas are places where many different movements and activities intersect — boats arriving and departing, people walking, working, meeting and lingering. A successful marina needs to carefully organise these different speeds and flows, not only to function efficiently, but to create spaces that feel lively, comfortable and memorable. Beyond their technical role, marinas should be destinations in their own right: places to sit by the water, share a meal, meet friends or simply enjoy being at the waterfront.
We believe the most vibrant marinas are those that draw energy from their surroundings. By designing marinas as natural extensions of their context, it becomes possible to borrow the character, rhythms and public life of nearby towns or landscapes and intensify them into a new waterfront setting. This approach helps create a sense of authenticity and belonging rather than a place that feels separate or purely transactional.
Key to this is the careful balance of uses and the quality of the public realm. A mix of programmes that attract people at different times of day and throughout the year helps sustain life beyond peak boating hours. Equally important is prioritising the pedestrian experience: generous promenades, welcoming plazas and shaded routes that are protected from service traffic and vehicle noise allow social life to unfold comfortably at the water’s edge.
In our Ermioni project, for example, the existing village promenade flows seamlessly into the marina, culminating in a plaza at the heart of the development where restaurants and shops animate the shoreline. Vehicle access and parking are discreetly placed to the rear, keeping the waterfront fully pedestrian, while amphitheatre-style steps descend to the water, offering casual seating and direct access to the bay. At the tip of the windward pier, a small shaded park provides a quiet lookout over the harbour, connecting visitors visually to the historic village across the bay.
How can a new marina be a good ecological neighbour, not only to mitigate damage done during the marina’s construction but also for many years into the future?
Sustainability must be central to marina design. Building a marina can be extremely disruptive to both the existing land and the underwater environment, so it’s essential to approach each project with care and creativity to ensure it becomes a positive presence over the long term.
A good marina works with natural systems rather than against them. Strategies can include careful water management — capturing rainwater, channelling it into the ground and reducing irrigation demands — as well as harnessing renewable energy sources such as solar, wind or, where appropriate, the movement of waves and tides. Simple, context-sensitive design choices also make a big difference: orienting buildings for natural ventilation, providing generous shade in sunny Mediterranean climates, using locally sourced materials and planting a mix of species that support local birds, bees and pollinators.
Equally important is encouraging people to engage with the site on foot rather than by car, reducing its ecological footprint while enhancing the visitor experience. Ultimately, a marina that respects its surroundings and integrates thoughtfully with local ecosystems not only mitigates the impacts of construction, but can become a long-lasting, positive neighbour to both the community and the environment.
What other projects is Neiheiser Argyros working on at the moment? What new challenges are these projects posing and how are you tackling them?
One of our most ambitious current projects is a multi-use aquatics centre at the new Hellinikon development in Athens, Europe’s largest urban redevelopment. While not a marina, this project shares a central concern of ours: the relationship between architecture and water. The project brings together an Olympic training pool, indoor pools, wellness facilities, a gym and a spa, all organised around landscaped gardens and courtyard neighbourhoods that create a village-like rhythm while maintaining a quiet, enclosed presence from the surrounding streets.
The project explores water’s many dimensions — its practical role, its aesthetic qualities and its ability to engage and shape experiences. Water reflects light, creates movement and sound and invites interaction, making it both a functional and poetic element in architecture. This ongoing exploration continues to inform our work on marinas and waterfronts and we see it as a long-term investigation into how architecture can celebrate and enhance new modes of living in dialogue with water.
