Asymmetrical glass buildings beside a river.

Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) in Kallithea, near Athens, Greece, is an urban cultural, educational, and recreational complex and encompasses the National Library of Greece, the Greek National Opera, as well as 20 hectares of park land with a gently rising, artificial hill – all designed by the famous Italian architect Renzo Piano. A 400-metre long canal runs along the main pedestrian axis as an attractive landscape element that also hosts sailing and kayaking lessons.

Opera and library form one building complex connected by the Agora, a public space providing access and connections between the two institutions. The opera consists of two theatres with 1,400 seats and 450 seats. The library contains around 1,000,000 volumes, and the reading room atop the building is entirely glass-walled, offering breathtaking views of Athens and the sea. A delicate canopy roof provides shade in the reading room and is covered with 5,700 solar panels which generate up to 2.2 GWhs per year.

Design and construction of the center, together the Stavros Niarchos Park, contributed significantly to the revitalisation of Kallithea, a neighbouring city of Athens, and the Faliro Delta waterfront area.

HeidelbergCement‘s Greek subsidiary, Halyps, delivered 105,000 m3 of ready-mixed concrete for the SNFCC. The main challenge of this project was to supply concrete of the same quality and colour in all requested concrete strength classes.

Halyps markets concrete under the brand name ET Beton. Thanks to the good reputation of the ET Beton brand, promoted by the large fleet of concrete mixer trucks and pumps, constant quality and outstanding know-how, the company has become a key supplier of ready-mixed concrete for major projects in the Attica region of Greece.

Designed and built to conform to LEED – Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – standards, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center has been rated PLATINUM, the highest LEED rating for energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable buildings.

Project Data

  • Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center S.A./ Greece

    Owner

  • Renzo Piano Building Workshop

    Architect

  • 2016

    Completion

Asymmetrical glass buildings beside a river.

Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, Greece. HeidelbergCement‘s Greek subsidiary, Halyps, delivered 105,000 m3 of ready-mixed concrete for the SNFCC.

Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, Greece. HeidelbergCement‘s Greek subsidiary, Halyps, delivered 105,000 m3 of ready-mixed concrete for the SNFCC.

Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, Greece. HeidelbergCement‘s Greek subsidiary, Halyps, delivered 105,000 m3 of ready-mixed concrete for the SNFCC.

Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, Greece. HeidelbergCement‘s Greek subsidiary, Halyps, delivered 105,000 m3 of ready-mixed concrete for the SNFCC.

Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, Greece. HeidelbergCement‘s Greek subsidiary, Halyps, delivered 105,000 m3 of ready-mixed concrete for the SNFCC.

Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, Greece.

Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, Greece. HeidelbergCement‘s Greek subsidiary, Halyps, delivered 105,000 m3 of ready-mixed concrete for the SNFCC.

Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, Greece. HeidelbergCement‘s Greek subsidiary, Halyps, delivered 105,000 m3 of ready-mixed concrete for the SNFCC.

Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, Greece. HeidelbergCement‘s Greek subsidiary, Halyps, delivered 105,000 m3 of ready-mixed concrete for the SNFCC.

Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, Greece. HeidelbergCement‘s Greek subsidiary, Halyps, delivered 105,000 m3 of ready-mixed concrete for the SNFCC.

Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, Greece. HeidelbergCement‘s Greek subsidiary, Halyps, delivered 105,000 m3 of ready-mixed concrete for the SNFCC.

Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, Greece. HeidelbergCement‘s Greek subsidiary, Halyps, delivered 105,000 m3 of ready-mixed concrete for the SNFCC.