Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center

Both opera and library are combined in one building, with a public space, the “Agora”, providing access and connections between the two main facilities. The opera wing is composed of two auditoria, one (450 seats) dedicated to traditional operas and ballets, the other (1400 seats) for more experimental performances. The entirely glass-walled library reading room sits on top of the building just underneath the canopy roof. A square horizontal transparent box, it enjoys a 360-degree view on Athens and the sea. The canopy roof provides essential shade and is topped with 10.000 sq. m of photovoltaic cells, allowing the building to be self-sufficient in energy terms during normal opening hours. With its wide range of trees, plants, water fountains, allées, paths, playgrounds and open spaces, the site’s park provides opportunities for learning, recreation, rest and new experiences.

As one of Athens’ earliest seaports on Faliro Bay, Kallithea has always had a strong relationship with the water. However, despite its proximity, before the construction there was no view of the sea from the site. To restore this, an artificial hill has been created at the south end of the site. Thus, thanks to a new pedestrian canal running from the North to the South, the sloping park culminates in the cultural centre building, giving it spectacular views towards the sea. The concept design was to create a multifunctional complex of buildings, integrating the values exemplified by the triptych educationenvironmentculture. RPBW aimed at building a complex that would creatively contribute to the reshaping of Athens’ cityscape, housing the new facilities of the Greek National Opera, the National Library of Greece and the Stavros Niarchos Park, thus strengthening Greek Culture.

The material used for the pedestrian hill rising to the building is visible concrete. Inside the library and the opera, steel has been used for the locks and the light structures’ columns. Wood has enabled to build the shelves on which the books are stored in the library. The iconic material of the project is the ferrocement, a composite material used for the canopy roof, sized 100m x 100m. Its thickness being thinner than other materials (3 to 8 cm), it is considered as a small-scale reinforced concrete. Historically a poor material, it offers the advantage to be sustainable over centuries, being composed of minerals. We can also note that the roof is not directly supported by columns but by springs, allowing the wind to be uniformly distributed on the building. Finally, the park has been provided with various species of trees that have been carefully sourced from various Nurseries in Greece and abroad.