ATHENS | National Library @ National Opera of Greece - Cultural Park

[socrates#1fan]

Originally Posted by somataki

It is nature. It is a green hill. A real one. Ultra modern inside, but outside a paradise green hill with mediterranean and greek nature. Something that Athens really needs.

The hill is timeless, but the building seems like a strange add on.
It would be better on its own, but I would call it functional at best.

[systema magicum]

Renzo Piano observes the hundreds of tiny trees hand-made in Vietnam inserted in the model of the Cultural Centre of the Niarchos Foundation. A new urban park for Athens (from Abitare 497, “Being Renzo Piano”).
http://www.abitare.it/featured/what-...iano-checking/

[systema magicum]

We Make things which Make cities

http://www.abitare.it/direttore/we-m...h-make-cities/

abitare 497

An interview with Renzo Piano – RPBW Genova 28.09.2009

Posted by Valentina Ciuffi - 11.30.2009
__________________

[systema magicum]

[Antonio227]

Congrats to Athens.

[systema magicum]

making a park...

[EagleX]

What will be the capacity of the main scene of the theatre?

[ELLIN]

Originally Posted by EagleX

What will be the capacity of the main scene of the theatre?

1400 Seat main auditorium, 400 seats smaller room and an open theatre with flexy layout.....



Stavros Niarchos Foundation
Cultural Center - Update

The Design Development phase of the Stavros Niarchos
Foundation Cultural Center project has successfully been
completed; and now follows the last stage of the design process,
namely the Construction Documents phase. Furthermore, the
Environmental Impact Assessment, i.e. the Environmental Permit,
was submitted to the relevant authorities in early September
2010; to be shortly followed by the submission of the Building
Permit.
Moreover, the Foundation recently issued the first informative
brochure on the project:
In 2015, Athens will vault to the forefront of 21st century
architecture, culture, and sustainable design. The Stavros
Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center is a multifunctional arts and
education facility built to enrich the everyday lives of Athenians
and Greeks and attract visitors from around the world. The
Center includes the 169,000 m2 (40 acre) Stavros Niarchos Park,
a revitalized modern National Library, and a world-class Opera
House. (…) When completed, it will be operated and controlled
by the State, the first private-public partnership of its kind
in Greece, and the largest cultural/educational project ever
undertaken in the country.
(…) Renowned architect Renzo Piano has met the challenge of
designing an urban icon that represents the aspirations of Greeks
in the third millennium by incorporating essential elements of the
national ecology – the sea, sun, stone, and earth – into a modern
topos infused with lightness and transparency. (…)
The project goal to be a “flagship of sustainability” is borne out
in every aspect of the design. In the Park, allées of shade trees
provide visitors with respite from the hot summer sun as well
as “sink” CO2 emissions. A year-round Mediterranean Garden
showcases indigenous, drought-tolerant plants. Soaring 46.5 m
above the Agora level, a massive photovoltaic canopy produces
energy for the building’s needs and contributes to the goal
of zero emissions.
An iconographic tower of books, a functional and welcoming
symbol of accessible learning, defines the character of the
National Library of Greece. (…) The Opera House lobby evokes
a “quarry,” where sculpted pillars of stone, dazzling by daylight
and subtle by night, anticipate the drama to be found on stage.
Inside the theater, technological sophistication and acoustic
perfection will accommodate the most demanding productions
as well as ballets, concerts, musicals, and more intimate
solo artistic performances. The Center integrates all three
components into a seamless, thrilling design, flexible to the
evolving needs of visitors and accessible to all.
WELCOME TO THE STAVROS NIARCHOS FOUNDATION
CULTURAL CENTER.
(From the brochure’s introduction)





http://www.snf.org/snfcc/EN/default.php


http://www.snf.org/elements/SNFCCBrochure.pdf

[systema magicum]

Stavros Niarchos Foundation
Cultural Center by Renzo Piano- in progress

Some renderings before the final presentation of the project...Renzo Piano creates a masterpiece for Athens!

http://www.snf.org/elements/niarchos_15.pdf
http://www.snf.org/
http://www.snf.org/snfcc/EN/default.php



http://rpbw.r.ui-pro.com/

[Dashonblaze]

According to me it is an extraordinary project. But the project is very important for the people and it is my appreciation to the founders. Some projects are very important for the nations.

[ELLIN]

Originally Posted by Dashonblaze

According to me it is an extraordinary project. But the project is very important for the people and it is my appreciation to the founders. Some projects are very important for the nations.

.....and lets not forget is is a NATIONAL project...(National Opera and Library of the country)....
It is just few metres from the sea.....

[7t]

A pretty boring project by an overhyped/mediocre architect in Renzo Piano. Can't believe city officials would commision a project of this importance to a single architect instead of opting for an international competition with more studios taking part thus having more ideas to choose from??!!

[touristas22]

It was a private foundation not the city officials... It might look simple but it is impressive because it uses less energy and there is some innovative "green" applications on it.

[balthazar]

for what can i see, i find it a G-r-e-a-t project!

[systema magicum]

Originally Posted by 7t

A pretty boring project by an overhyped/mediocre architect in Renzo Piano. Can't believe city officials would commision a project of this importance to a single architect instead of opting for an international competition with more studios taking part thus having more ideas to choose from??!!

well there was a type of competition or rather say selection with 3 finalists, Renzo Piano, Jean Nouvel (second) and Snohetta(third).

from the niarchos foundation site:
http://www.snf.org/snfcc/EN/index.ph...PcloDGLXfqi_EN
Architect selection process
The selection of the architect for the design of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) in Athens was the result of a thorough evaluation of multiple candidates by the Foundation’s Board of Directors and its advisors during the course of a closed international architectural competition. The entire process took just over a year to complete.

At the outset of the process, an initial list of twenty-four candidates was compiled and presented to the Board by the project´s Executive Architects, Cooper, Robertson & Partners. After successive screening rounds, the initial candidate list was reduced to eighteen, then twelve, and finally eight contenders who received extensive scrutiny by the Board at its meeting in April, 2007. In the course of these screening phases the Board reviewed the respective candidates’ experience and success with projects of similar scope and building types as well as the firms’ professional credentials, their capacity to service a project of this magnitude, and their history of collaboration with other design and technical professionals on comparable projects. Based on the results of these deliberations, the Foundation’s Board narrowed the list to three finalists at its July, 2007 meeting.

In early January of 2008, following completion of extensive site studies and a Master Plan under the auspices of the Executive Architects, a group comprising Foundation representatives and project advisors visited each of the finalists’ offices, met with their lead staff, and toured projects that they had designed. Each of the three finalists was then invited to make a presentation and be interviewed by the Board at its meeting in late January, 2008. The candidates addressed their qualifications and approaches to the project in sessions lasting up to three hours. The Board reviewed its prior deliberations, consulted with advisors on the substance of the three sets of presentations and interviews, and then was unanimous, on the basis of the entire established record, in making its final selection. As the Board’s process for architect selection drew to a close, the Board remained focused on the candidates’ overall commitment to the excellence of every aspect of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, their professional eminence as reflected by past success on projects of similar scope and visibility, and their demonstrated respect for the history and culture of Greece.

I must say that it was a peculiar way to do that and I would like something more open but now we have a result and I find it interesting.

[ELLIN]

New photos released from the official site of Renzo Piano.
The final look of the monumental project !!
http://www.rpbw.com/


Views from the top glass room on the side of mountains of Athens


First sight at the entrance of the National Library, the "book tower" with the historic books and documents


"Green" pedestrian over the building that ends on the top of the glass room


Views from the walking paths of the Niarchos park


The little building of the water canal that seperates the building from the olympic esplanade next


Views of the green energy gigantic roof (10.000 square metres and the glass walls of the National Library - Agora - and National Opera, from the water canal side


The green sun energy roof, the elevator that brings you up to the glass tunel at the way of the glass room with the views of the Saronic gulf and the skyline of Athens

[Gorky]

Beautiful

[potiz81]

It must be Piano's most mature work. Congratulations to Niarchos Foundation!

[the spliff fairy]

This is going to be an instant classic. Very classy and understated, but with verve.

[systema magicum]

According to the local newspapers the presentation of the final designs for the project will be held during May so then we will have an overall view of Piano's work for this huge project...almost 600 m dollars the budget which makes it one of the most important cultural projects currently in progress and one of the biggest cultural donations worldwide.Construction is going to commence at the end of this year...monumental and classy, a mature work by one of the most important architects of our time...