Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center
Structural Designer
Expedition Engineering|Omete
Client Name
Stavros Niarchos Foundation
Location
Athens, Greece
ARCHITECT
Renzo Piano Building Workshop Architect
DESIGN
Arup Mechanical and Electrical Engineering design
PROJECT MANAGER
Faithful and Gould Project management and cost consultancy
MAIN CONTRACTOR
Impregilo–Terna (Joint Venture)
Penelis Main contractor’s structural engineer
Images: © Yiorgis Yerolymbos, Michael Denance, Expedition Engineering
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
A new home for the Greek National Library and National Opera, the Center has already become a hub for regeneration in south-central Athens, and features a number of engineering innovations.
A super-slender, lightweight ferrocement canopy roof is raised on slender columns over the whole building, and carries a huge solar panel array – a modern counterpoint to the Acropolis. A network of seismic base isolators helps the structure survive earthquake conditions. Each isolator is so large that only one laboratory in the world could test them.
Judge's comment:
The heart of this project is the ferrocement canopy that generates energy from the sun. But this is not the only sustainability focussed aspect of the project; reinforced earth retaining walls and localised stone columns save both money and carbon, whilst ferrocement is an old material configured in a modern way. A highly ingenious combination of traditional skills underpinned by modern knowledge delivers a stunning project.